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L.A.-based street artist Plastic Jesus rendered a life-size statue of Kanye West on Hollywood Boulevard, just one block away from where the 2017 Oscars will air this weekend. The portrayal of West is provocative, to say the least, as it shows the rapper as Jesus during his crucifixion. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Plastic Jesus reveals his intention was to symbolize West’s recent “fall from grace.” The name of the thought-provoking piece? “False Idol.”

Plastic Jesus wanted to make a comment on how the media and general public treat West. “The piece is as critical of us as consumers as it is of Kanye himself,” the artist tells THR. “He’s a genius at writing and producing but he’s not a God, and that’s where we put him. Until there’s an issue in his life or a hiccup in his career, then we crucify him,” he adds.

THR goes on to say the photojournalist-turned-artist “cites West’s controversial statements, recent breakdown and hospitalization as reasons for his public fall from grace.” He adds, “We’ve seen it before with people like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan. The same people who put him into a God-like place are the same yapping at his heels for a piece of flesh when something happens,” Plastic Jesus explained.

“False Idol” is just one piece among a few others he’s done around the Oscars. As THR notes, he created a life-size Oscar statue “snorting cocaine on all fours” back in 2015. He also fashioned an Oscar statue with a heroine needle in its arm, a piece inspired by the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Head over to Plastic Jesus’ website to become more acquainted with his artwork, plus video and a photo of “False Idol” above.

There’s A Statue Of Kanye West As Jesus In Los Angeles  was originally published on globalgrind.com