A statue erected in Kazakhstan to celebrate local author Abai Qunanbaiuli and Russian exile and scientist Yevgeny Mikhaelis was removed, just a day later, after residents complained that it looked like the two were taking “a selfie” with a mobile phone. This perceived reference to social media was not to the public’s liking that the statue is being banished until “fixed.”
Officials stated that the statue “deviated from the agreed design,” while co-sculptor Yevgeny Mikhaelis explained, “We were in a huge rush, and look what happened.” The Western media attached the “hobbit” likeness at some point later, possibly because once you pretend that the book one of the statues is holding is actually a phone, then they appear smaller than average size in comparison. Now look what happened. (Image: YK.kz via Art Net)
