A hyper realistic statue of UFC star fighter Conor McGregor, who is turning 30 on July 14, will be on display in a London gallery until September. The portrait of the fighter, bursting out of the marble plinth, has been created by Birmingham-based Lithuanian contemporary artist Edgar Askelovic, working under the alias Aspencrow. He plans to present the piece “Atlas,” as he called his tribute, to McGregor.
The sculptured present, which weighs about 100 kg, costs about $66K.
"He is a phenomenon of our time — not just a smart athlete, but also a visionary. To create the piece, I looked back to antiquity, when athletes were immortalized in sculptures as gods. And I combined some details from a Michelangelo statue with modern day graffiti to capture the present day's warrior sensibilities,” the artist told the English newspaper The Sun.
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It’s taken Aspencrow five months to make the statue. He meticulously filmed the process, posting behind-the-scene sneak peeks via Instagram.
The sculptor even used real hear for McGregor’s beard and lashes, and made the eyes look hyper realistic with UV-resistant polyurethane resin.
He also decorated the marble plinth with McGregor’s Gorilla tattoo.
“People of our generation grew up on graffiti and hooliganism, so I’ve displayed part of his tattoos on his back in graffiti,” the artist said, as quoted by the newspaper.
The piece of work has been too good a laughing matter for social users to skip.
References to the 2018 FIFA World Cup couldn’t be avoided.
29-year-old McGregor is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competes in their lightweight division and held the champion title till January 2018. His MMA record comprises 24 fights, including 21 wins and 3 losses.