As if his ego and metaphorical knob needed any more polishing, an artist has taken it upon himself to sculpt a statue of Conor McGregor to gift him for his 30th birthday. And true to McGregor’s high-end ethos, the piece chiselled in his image is worth a staggering $66,400 USD.
“It is an honour Conor has accepted this as a gift from me,” says Edgar Askelovic, the artisan behind the art.
“He is a phenomenon of our time– not just a smart athlete, but also a visionary… It’s normal that someone decided to immortalise him in this way.”
#HelwaniShow An amazing sculpture AH…hyperrealistic sculpture worth £50,000, which celebrated artist Aspencrow has made for @UFC fighter @TheNotoriousMMA McGregor, celebrates his 30th b-day this Sat 14 July. It will be unveiled at London, Mayfair’s prestigious JD Malat Gallery. pic.twitter.com/8JGqY87tzM
— Gareth A Davies (@GarethADaviesDT) July 9, 2018
Dubbed “Atlas”, there is a clear aesthetic reference to “The Farnese Atlas”, a Hellenistic sculpture from second century Rome depicting the titan from Greek mythology burdened with the weight of the sky. Atlas the titan has been canonised throughout the history of Western art time and time again.
“It’s up to you what you see in it. You can see him as a prisoner, or a God, or just as a person.”
Askelovic goes on to state his love for McGregor and how he feels as though the internationally renowned fighter is his soulmate. Super weird, considering they’re perfect strangers, but OK. Moving on.
“Atlas” will be displayed at the JD Malat Gallery in London from McGregor’s birthday of July 14th until September 30th. After which it will be delivered to McGregor for keepsies.
Askelovic plans on creating two more iterations: one to sell and one for future exhibitions.
Related: $30,000 USD on a wax statue of himself and other stuff Cristiano Ronaldo spends his millions on.
