Cara Delevingne Inspired a Feminist Medusa-Like Sculpture by ASPENCROW
Cara Delevingne has just been immortalized in an unlikely way. The model and actress is the inspiration for a new Medusa-like sculpture by the Lithuanian artist ASPENCROW. Today, it was officially unveiled at the JD Malat Gallery, in London, and—warning—once you glimpse it, you can’t unsee it.
The sculpture is eerily lifelike, from Delevingne’s smirk to her signature full eyebrows, which were created using bear wool. From the top of her head, painted snakelike limbs jut out. The piece, titled Olympe, is made from fiberglass, silicon, and resin. As jarring as it is to look at, though, the message behind it is sound.
The statue is named after Olympe de Gouges, the French feminist, activist, and playwright, who was executed by the guillotine in 1973 after calling out the government. According to the artist, it is a “symbol of feminism.” “Many females [were] affected in [a] fight for their rights,” ASPENCROW wrote on Instagram. “But they were able to change vector in the gender equality in Europe. ✊.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Aspencrow’s ‘Olympe’ sculpture is unveiled at JD Malat Gallery. The artwork by contemporary sculpture Edgar Askelovic depicts model and actress Cara Delevingne.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Jean David Malat, founder of the JD Malat Gallery unveils Aspencrow’s ‘Olympe’ sculpture at JD Malat Gallery. The artwork depicts model and actress Cara Delevingne.
Delevingne has yet to acknowledge the sculpture on social media, but she’s spent her career as an actress using her platform to bring about more equality. As she shared back in 2015, one of the ways she’s been doing so is by correcting how women are written into scripts. “I speak up and say, ‘Girls don’t do that,’ or ‘That’s not something a girl would say in that situation,’” Delevingne told Time Out London four years ago. “Instead, it’s about how men perceive women and it’s not accurate, and it annoys me! I don’t think people speak up enough. It’s important that when girls watch movies they’ve got strong female role models.…Even if I’m wrong, even if I get shut down, I know that I’ve done my part to get a woman’s voice out there.”
The following year, Delevingne spoke out about the need for more solidarity among women. “As women, we have to build each other up, not bring each other down,” Delevingne told Glamour in 2016. “Ever since I started my career modeling, a lot has changed, but there’s so much that we have to do…we all need to be leaders for the future of young girls, it’s so important. They are the future!”
