Some of the most questionable statues to appear in the UK in recent times include one resembling a ‘giant poo emoji’ and another of spinning gold cones that all turned black after less than a year.
Reactions to the creations have ranged from confusion to horror as well as outcry from those who just find them downright offensive.
And there is also the price tag to consider as some of the worst offenders are also statues that have claimed thousands of pounds from the public purse.
Here MailOnline provides a run-down of recent contenders for the most awful pieces of artwork ever made and delves deeper into the story behind them.
But which one do you think deserves the crown? And can you guess what they’re actually supposed to be?
£19,500 spinning gold cones
Earlier this year locals slammed the efforts of their council for a project unveiled in the market town of Farnham, Surrey which was likened to ‘Madonna‘s bra’, a ‘Dalek scrapyard’ and ‘giant dunce hats’.
The piece, conceived in 2020, involved Farnham Town Council the University for the Creative Arts, the Farnham Maltings arts centre and the Farnham Public Art Trust – but it was in April this year that people first started to notice something strange.
The interactive spinning golden cones were designed by artists Natalie Bradwell and Livia Spinolo who say that discolouring was ‘totally deliberate’
Others have compared them to dunce caps worn by naughty children (left) and Doctor Who villains the Daleks (right)
Residents have unfavourably compared the sculptures to a famous bra designed by Jean Paul Gaultier and worn by pop icon Madonna
At a cost of £19,500, the once shiny brass artwork, titled ‘A Hand’s Turn’, had weathered over the previous year meaning it now resembled ‘black dented cones’.
Chris Daugherty, a bestselling author who lives in the area said at the time: ‘It has been in place for a year or so now, and it has already decayed to an extraordinary degree.’
Another neighbour, Jenny Barratt, added: ‘People of all ages regularly bang the cones creating a thunderous cacophony of sound that emanates as they bang one after another, and another, and another.’
One of the artists, Natalie Bradwell, insisted that the darkening in colour was ‘totally deliberate’.
She said: ‘One thing that we were hoping would happen is where people play with the cones, that over time that would also show.’
The university-funded 8ft tall ‘kinetic’ sculptures were meant to symbolise ‘the enduring role of hands in craft for thousands of years’ and were introduced as as a ‘sensory, tactile, and interactive sculptural installation’.
Giant heads of royalty
Among the most terrifying statues are arguably two gigantic 12ft terracotta heads.
These are of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip – bought by a man who loved them so much he purchased them in a sale and popped them in his garden.
Giant statues of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were listed on Facebook Marketplace for sale in Windsor, Berkshire for £2,000
Owner Ben Bennett found the regal sculptures – complete with green hair – in a house clearance and erected them on his lawn in Windsor.
After owning them for 12 years since the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Mr Bennett put the 18-feet wide wonders up for sale for £2,000 in March this year.
The statues are made from chicken wire and plaster and 36-year-old Ben Inglis told MyLondon of how his granddad had got the statues from QVC in Battersea after the Jubilee but didn’t know how much they cost.
The Windsor resident said: ‘When we towed them out of London, all the open top bus tours were taking pictures and cheering and laughing us on.’
When the sculptures were new they had fake flowers on them and real flowers planted at the bottom.
The pair are mounted on the same frame and therefore had to be transported together.
‘Poorest ever’ statue of a royal
On the topic of royals, this statue is one that heavily divided opinion when it was first introduced with a six-figure price tag.
A controversial sculpture in Cambridge depicting Prince Philip is to be removed after being described by the city council as ‘possibly the poorest quality work’ ever submitted
The controversial artwork was a 13-ft bronze sculpture called ‘The Don’ supposed to represent Prince Philip in his role as Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University.
Costing £150,000, city planners initially refused permission for the statue to be displayed outside a new office in 2014, describing it as the worst piece of public art they had ever seen.
But after it finally managed to creep in, Cambridge City Council issued an enforcement notice for the statue to be removed due it to not having planning permission and having a ‘harmful material impact’ on the appearance of the area.
The statue was originally attributed to Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry, but he later disowned the piece saying it was ‘an abuse’ that his name had been associated.
‘Awful’ waxwork of famous singer
A Dublin museum said it would ‘do better’ after its sculpture of a famous singer was slammed by fans of the late artist.
People took issue with the apparent lack of resemblance to such an extent that many compared the model of Sinead O’Connor, to commemorate the first year of her death, to a Thunderbird.
A spokesman for the National Wax Museum in Dublin said: ‘We have listened closely to the reactions and agree that the figure does not fully capture Sinéad’s unique presence and essence as we intended.
The Dublin museum promised to ‘do better’ and vowed to create a more accurate waxwork of Sinéad O’Connor – after their sculpture, which was unveiled today to commemorate the one year anniversary of her death – was slammed by fans, with many comparing the model of the iconic singer to a Thunderbird
Even more bizarrely, the work was placed next to Liam Neeson in character as Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Vader – both in Star Wars regalia
A video shared by TheJournal.ie depicts the moment Sinéad’s waxwork is unveiled at the museum, as her iconic hit Nothing Compares 2U plays in the background
‘We are committed to creating a new wax figure that better reflects Sinéad O’Connor’s true spirit and iconic image.’
This comes as one person had called the statue ‘scary looking’ while another dubbed it ‘absolutely horrendous’.
‘Tone deaf’ statue resembling ‘dead body in the river’
One statue unveiled this year was branded ‘deeply upsetting’, ‘offensive’ and ‘tone deaf’.
This was after passersby began to confuse it for a dead body in the river.
Jason deCaires Taylor created the sculpture called The Alluvia to be placed in the River Stour in Canterbury, Kent.
Made from recycled glass, LEDs and marine stainless steel, Alluvia’s lifelike figure glowed in the dark and was inspired by Shakespeare’s Ophelia from Hamlet.
It wasn’t long before hundreds of people took to social media to express their distaste.
People have branded the Alluvia statue in the River Stour as downright offensive
Artist Jason deClaires Taylor stands alongside the statue Alluvia in the River Stour in his hometown of Canterbury
A woman commented: ‘I would legit think someone had drowned and call 999!’
One local resident said: ‘Think it’s very disrespectful for all the families and the loved ones who have lost due to being drowned or murdered. I think it will cause a lot of trauma and memory that people don’t need to remind themselves of.’
Taylor told Sky News that he was ‘surprised’ about the backlash and claimed ’99 per cent of all the feedback’ that he’d received had been positive.
‘Totally inappropriate’ and ‘misogynistic’ artwork
Another statue depicting a woman to have divided opinion is one titled Ariadne (Wrapped).
Though for some even calling it a ‘woman’ was a stretch as the sculpture was a slab of stone covered with bits of rope.
Created by artist Gavin Turk in 2022, the artwork is supposed to show the Greek goddess Ariadne in transit while wrapped in a dust sheet.
But Green councillor Naomi Bennett said in a meeting of Cambridge City Council that she thought the piece should be removed and went so far as to suggest it ‘mainstreamed violence against women’.
Ms Bennett explained: ‘What does it say about our city that visitors to our city are greeted by a statue of a bound woman when they arrive at the main railway station?’
Ms Bennett said: ‘Some people don’t realise it is a bound woman and just think it’s some sort of building work in progress and is unfinished. And others do take a look and are quite upset because Cambridge station, late at night, is not a nice place to be
Ariadne Wrapped’, being unveiled at Station Square, Cambridge Ariadne (Wrapped) outside Cambridge railway station by artist Gavin Turk in 2022
A spokesman for Brookgate, the company that commissioned Ariadne (Wrapped) said: ‘Ariadne (Wrapped) is a sculpture by renowned British artist Gavin Turk.
‘Ariadne (Wrapped) shows an object wrapped in a dust sheet as if awaiting unpackaging. Ariadne is metaphorically wrapped in history, context and time.’
‘The stuff of nightmares’ statue of England footballer
This questionable statue unveiled in November this year of an England footballer had languished in storage for five years.
For many people, it might have done better to stay in there.
The England and Bayern Munich striker, who had been back in the UK for the international break, posed for photos with the sculpture at The Peter May Centre, in Walthamstow, east London.
Opinion was divided with art critic Estelle Lovatt telling Sky News: ‘If you think about it historically, a public statue was there to immortalise, show off and loudly boast of the achievements and accomplishments of the person.
‘If it doesn’t really bear a resemblance to the person, it’s quite difficult to relate to it.’
When photos of the statue first surfaced in March, it prompted much mirth on social media.
The FC_E wrote on X: ‘Does any professional footballer have a decent statue? Why do they all look so bad.
The statue was unveiled at The Peter May Centre. It prompted much mirth on social media when photos were first shared in March
The England captain applauded as two young children unveiled the statue on Monday morning
The life-size statue of the England captain is said to have been completed in 2020 at a cost of £7,200, one year after if it was commissioned by Waltham Forest Council
Giant ‘poo emoji’
To round off the list, also in November this year a sculpture likened to a ‘giant poo emoji’ was unveiled in a nature reserve.
It wasn’t long before the piece of art was branded a huge waste of public money by furious locals – who also took issue with the shocking resemblance.
The 4.5m-tall sculpture was introduced to Earnley Viewpoint at Medmerry Nature Reserve, near Chichester in West Sussex but faced backlash from residents in the area baffled by its appearance.
Among its critics was Solly Everett who said: ‘The idea of marking the rich coastal heritage of the south coast with a giant poo emoji is hilarious.
‘But given the amount of raw sewage in the sea these day perhaps it is entirely appropriate.
‘It’s a huge waste of public money. Couldn’t they come up with a better design than this – it’s ridiculous. What an absolute farce!’
Another visitor to the reserve said: ‘I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw it.
The 4.5m-tall sculpture was unveiled at Earnley Viewpoint at Medmerry Nature Reserve, near Chichester in West Sussex, last week
Critics have compared the artwork to a ‘giant poo emoji’ found on mobile phones and online
‘I thought it was a joke at first. When I walked past another walker at the reserve, they just laughed as well.’
But can you guess what this statue is actually supposed to represent?
Well, among its deeper meanings are a reflection of the site’s Bronze and Middle Age history.
The Periwinkle Shelter artwork, which cost £6,000, is woven from willow branches and is designed to imitate a tiny sea snail.
Who would have thought!
The Periwinkle Shelter artwork near Chichester in West Sussex, which cost £6,000, is woven from willow branches and is designed to imitate a tiny sea snail
