Hear
Due to a heat wave that hits the east coast of the United States, whose temperatures exceed 33°, a statue of Abraham Lincolnreplica of the famous work of the Lincoln Memorial, melted in Washington D.C. The monument to the hero known for abolishing slavery in that country, It is made of wax and also works as a candle.
Due to the high temperatures, the replica located in what was Camp Barker – a former refugee camp where former African American slaves lived after being freed in 1863 – suffered its first repercussions on Lincoln’s head and neck. Then his legs followed, until his chair joined the floor. The work is by an artist from the state of Virginia named Sandy Williams IV.
However, this is not the first time that the replica of the Lincoln Memorial has suffered this mishap. It had been installed in the same place in September last year, but because it included more than 100 fuses that had been lit initially, the statue began to melt before the opening ceremony. A new version of the work was put up in February with fewer wicks for tourists to light, although a plaque warns: “Please blow out the wick in 1 or 2 minutes.”
This warning was not enough to prevent the statue from melting again and the high temperatures did not do it justice. The cities of Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia recorded record temperatures over the weekend, around 37.8°.
The statue is currently undergoing repairs, according to reports BBC, leaving a wire protruding from the neck of the sixteenth president of the United States. While, Lincoln’s head is scheduled to be re-glued this week.
The Lincoln Memorial tribute is located outside Garrison Elementary School as part of “The Wax Monument” series, presented by Williams, and is intended to represent a “direct commentary on Washington DC’s history of Civil War-era smuggling camps.”
THE NATION
