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An artist has created a hyper-realistic adult human foreskin sculpture in order to raise awareness about the 'true cost' of male circumcision.

HUFO, which stands for HUman FOreskin, has been created by Vincenzo Aiello, an Italian artist and founder of Foregen, an organisation that plans to use stem cell technology to "regrow" foreskins lost through circumcision.

Aiello is an 'intactivist' - a person who believes that circumcision is an unnecessary mutilation that diminishes sexual pleasure later in life.

He is creating the startling artwork to help spread his message across the world.

Aiello studied circumcision surgeries for months in order to create the creepy silicone sculpture - a soft, fleshy object sandwiched between two pieces of glass.

Anyone can buy the sculpture for $1,000 (£671) through Kickstarter. The funds will go towards the artwork, but will also support an educational campaign.

"HUFO shows in no uncertain terms what is lost when parents decide to perform an elective surgery on their newborn son. Circumcision has become so commonplace in the US that parents often forget that circumcision is a surgery," says Aiello on the Kickstarter page for the sculpture.

"Every other surgery in Western medicine requires both compelling and urgent medical reasons to perform without consent. Unfortunately there is not a single one.”

Aiello says that the human foreskin - which he bizarrely compares to the size of an iPhone 5s - contains more than half of all of the sensory tissue on the penis and that its contributions to sexual pleasure are "unique and necessary".

"American men have been deceived for decades regarding the true nature of their bodies," he says.

If you don't have a spare $1,000 (£671) for a foreskin sculpture, you can pledge $50 for a T-shirt with the foreskin printed on it or $10 for a print of the artwork.