Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Rachel Looker
- Role, BBC News, Washington
He kept a cool head during the American Civil War, but a heatwave proved too much for his statue. A wax effigy of President Abraham Lincoln has melted as temperatures soared over the weekend in the nation’s capital.
The head went first, then one of his legs dripped off its torso and a foot turned into a blob. The chair sank into the ground.
The head from the 6ft wax sculpture of the Lincoln Memorial is now under repair, leaving behind a wire sticking out of the 16th president’s neck.
The memorial rests on the site of Camp Barker in Washington DC – a Civil War-era refugee camp that housed formerly enslaved and freed African Americans – now home to an elementary school.
It was placed outside of Garrison Elementary School as part of The Wax Monument Series by Virginia-based artist Sandy Williams IV.
The replica is more than just a wax statue – it is also a candle. And this is not the first time it had issues with melting.
The statue was installed at the same location last September, but the first version of the wax monument included over 100 wicks that were prematurely lit, melting a significant portion of the art installation ahead of its dedication ceremony.
The new version installed in February has strategically placed (and fewer) wicks. A plaque below reads: “Please blow out your wick within 1-2 minutes.”
Image source, Getty Images
The installation is a “direct commentary on DC’s history of Civil War-era Contraband Camps”, according to its website.
The replica, commissioned by non-profit CulturalDC, is the third installation of Williams’ 40 ACRES Archive – The Wax Monument series which includes wax replicas of popular public monuments and cultural symbols.
The DC-metro area was under a heat alert over the weekend. High temperatures are expected to continue throughout this week.
The wax head is set to be reattached this week, local media outlets reported.
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