[bots]

A tongue-in-cheek statue of US First Lady Melania Trump has appeared on the outskirts of her Slovenian hometown.

US artist Brad Downey hired a local chainsaw artisan, Ales Zupevc, to carve the likeness out of a tree trunk outside the town of Sevnica.

The result was a wooden rendering of Mrs Trump dressed in a blue coat with a club-like hand gesturing to the sky.

Some residents described it as "a disgrace", a "Smurfette", saying "it doesn't look anything like Melania".

Downey told Reuters news agency he wanted to "have a dialogue" with the US political situation.

The artist has an exhibition in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana until late August. The gallery reportedly suggested the statue "might only be a slapstick prank" in a leaflet.

Downey's previous works include Wisdom Testicles and Cactus Hand.

Sevnica has become a tourist magnet ever since Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, and Ms Trump - a famous former resident - became the first lady.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48890660
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Amazing likeness