2024 has not been a good year for Royal family-themed art. First, there was that King Charles portrait that saw him doing his best Vigo the Carpathian impression. And let’s not forget the Meghan Markle painting that boldly declared her to be “the White Queen.” Apparently, this curse extends into sculpture, too, as these new statues of the late queen and her prince consort are leaving Brits in stitches.
This September, Belfast’s Antrim Castle Gardens welcomed a fresh piece to its landscape that is supposed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, not to mention the much-missed monarch’s beloved Corgis. Thankfully, the Belfast Telegraph tweet announcing the new addition explained all this otherwise we’re pretty sure no one would’ve realized who the statues were supposed to depict.
Royal family followers left furious at “Wallace and Gromit meets Terminator” statues
With their awkward robotic stances, curiously caricatured facial features, and just all-round lack of resemblance to these very recognizable public figures, Royal lovers are up in arms over this new display — while those more ambivalent to the institution are enjoying the laugh.
As the Belfast Telegraph notes, the multi-part statue was the work of local artist Anto Brennan… who we now suspect may be the only person on the planet never to have seen a photo of the Queen.
By the looks of things, Brennan watched five minutes of The Crown, got bored and then decided that was enough research, time to crack on.
Who knows, maybe “Wallace and Gromit meets the T1000 Terminator mashup vibes” was exactly what the artist was going for? I mean, Aardman attacks on the Royal family are strangely in vogue this year.
New meme template unlocked.
Good news, cursed Cristiano Ronaldo statue, we’ve found your parents.
And can we all take a moment to appreciate the Bronze Queen’s backward arms?
Says it all, really…
BBC News spoke to Antrim Castle Garden visitors about the bronze eyesore, and the results were no less damning. Local man Richard was “really disappointed” by the statue. “Whoever signed that off needs their eyes tested. It’s not good,” Richard, a man of discerning taste, criticized. “I would take it away. It doesn’t do anything in memory for Her Majesty, so definitely I would remove it.”
It’s not just X users and people off the street who are blasting the statues either. Antrim councilwoman Vera McWilliam admitted, “We have to be honest, it does not resemble the Queen in any shape or form.”
As a way to honor the Duke of Edinburgh and the former queen three and two years on from their deaths, respectively, it’s fair to say this statue falls short. As a way to boost Antrim tourism, though, it massively succeeds.
