Hot wax: Chinese sculptor Zhang Molei recreates North Korea's leaders, large and life-like
In the closed state, the public treats wax doubles of Kim Jong-il and other key figures with the same reverence as the historic people they depict, the artist who created them says.
The special allure of waxworks, says Zhang Molei, China’s foremost exponent of the art, is the opportunity to pose alongside the great and good.
Even leaders cannot resist being captured beside their predecessors. A photograph in the Great Man Wax Museum of China’s office shows Li Yuanchao, China’s vice-president, with a model of Zhou Enlai.
But in North Korea, the figures made by Zhang’s team are an object of reverence. Even the most senior officials cannot be photographed with the models of the late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, displayed just outside Pyongyang.
“People cry when they see the statues,” Zhang said.
“For North Korean people it’s like being close to a god. They respect the figures in the way they would respect the actual person; it’s not just a piece of art. Even senior officials keep a distance of at least 1.5 metres. No one would touch their clothes or hair."
People can take pictures from only one spot, chosen to show each figure to its best advantage, and must capture the whole of the image, as when photographing sculptures or paintings.
