New Melania Trump statue in Slovenia gets mixed reviews Published duration 6 July 2019

image copyright AFP image caption The sculpture was carved out of a tree trunk with a chainsaw

A tongue-in-cheek statue of US First Lady Melania Trump has appeared on the outskirts of her Slovenian hometown.

US artist Brad Downey hired a local chainsaw artisan, Ales Zupevc, to carve the likeness out of a tree trunk outside the town of Sevnica.

The result was a wooden rendering of Mrs Trump dressed in a blue coat with a club-like hand gesturing to the sky.

Some residents described it as "a disgrace", a "Smurfette", saying "it doesn't look anything like Melania".

Downey told Reuters news agency he wanted to "have a dialogue" with the US political situation.

Sevnica has become a tourist magnet ever since Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, and Ms Trump - a famous former resident - became the first lady.

As visitors search for an insight into Mrs Trump's early years, residents have brought out ranges of Melania-branded merchandise including slippers, cake, and Trump-like burgers with fly-away cheese "hair".

image copyright AFP