Ron English’s giant Ronald McDonald and Statue of Liberty figures removed within hours of going up in Shanghai
Works by US contemporary artist ordered removed from a Shanghai street because, at over six metres tall, they were deemed too big; local McDonald’s also complained about one of them, a Ronald McDonald figure
Two giant figures by American artist Ron English have been removed from outside a department store in Shanghai within hours of being erected.
The works – Liberty Grin and MC Supersized, which are both more than six metres tall – were placed outside the Reel Department Store in Shanghai as part of the artist’s “East Meets West” exhibition, which runs in the city until May 13.
The works were put up on Wednesday morning and removed at 10pm that night.
“Mall management, police and local government officials advised us that the statues had to be removed from the square because they were too large,” said MD Young, tour and exhibition producer for Pop Life Entertainment, the China-based events company that organised the show.
Young said that while he was aware that McDonald’s in Shanghai had complained about the MC Supersized piece, he said that was not the main issue, as the artist had proof of US copyrights for his works. “So the installation became a pop-up,” Young said.