At the beginning of 2016 Nikolai Shmatko carved a bust of Donald Trump from Carrara marble and made a prediction of his coming to the White House. Saying that the destiny of the 45th American President is determined by God and nobody can change the course of events, he stated that all this is already written in the book of history of the USA.

"I viewed Melania as a symbol of classical antiquity and a standard of beauty like Nefertiti. Today she is a part of history of the American people and her face is a mirror of modern world and rapid development of the country. This is a many-faced person and that gives an opportunity to interpret her image at the background of the 21st century as a kind of philosophy," Nikolai Shmatko explains.

Some people gossip that the sculptor gets money to create these sculptures – either from the Kremlin or from Donald Trump himself. But the author finds this absurd and asserts that hasn't received a penny.

"Nobody paid me anything. Today it is already a part of American history. I used my own resources to create these objects of art. I did not seek external payment in the hope of getting some support of my art," Nikolai Shmatko affirms.

In a while the author is going to embody the image of the First Lady of the United States in white marble thus putting a final touch in the making of this work.

Pereyaslav-Khmelnitskiy, 04.11.2017 (photos of Rafael Shmatko)