The David Bowie Statue is a bronze sculpture of David Bowie sculpted by Andrew Sinclair and unveiled in 2018 in Market Square, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire by Howard Jones.
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| 51°48′57″N 0°48′43″W / 51.8158°N 0.8119°W | |
| Location | Market Square, Aylesbury |
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| Designer | Andrew Sinclair |
| Type | Statue |
| Material | Bronze |
| Opening date | 25 March 2018 |
Statue
The statue was unveiled in 2018 in Aylesbury where Bowie debuted his Ziggy Stardust character. Entitled "Earthly Messenger", it is situated in Market Square. It features a likeness of Bowie from 2002 and a selection of his alter egos down the years, with Ziggy at the front. Speakers mounted above the life-size piece play a Bowie song every hour.
Money to create the work was raised through grants and a £100,000 crowdfunding appeal by music promoter David Stopps.[1]
Critical reception
The statue received mixed reviews. Online art magazine Artlyst described it as "hideous", poorly rendered and not fitting a man (Bowie) who loved fine art. Rob Stringer, CEO of Sony Music, described the statue as “beautiful”.[2]
Vandalism
Less than 48 hours after the statue was unveiled, it was vandalised. "Feed the homeless first" was written in front of it, "RIP DB" on a wall beside it and a section of the statue was painted on.[3] In October 2018, it was vandalised for a second time with graffiti sprayed onto the statue, some pavements, doors and hoardings.[4]