トランプ氏像が大受け、中国人アーティスト

【厦門 ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国福建省の工房にあるドナルド・トランプ次期米大統領（７８）の像は、半眼で足を組み、仏陀を思わせるポーズで瞑想にふけっている。（写真は、中国福建省厦門〈アモイ〉にある工房で、仏陀を思わせるポーズを取るドナルド・トランプ次期米大統領の像と作者の洪金世氏）
　デザイナー兼彫刻家の洪金世氏（４７）が手掛けた、座禅をしているかのようなトランプ氏の像は、大きさに応じて９９９元から２万元（約２万～４２万円）で販売されている。
　２０２１年にオークションサイトの淘宝（タオバオ）で話題となって全国的な注目を集め、トランプ氏の２期目就任を前に今また人気を博している。
　最初はジョークのつもりで像をデザインしたという洪氏は「（トランプ氏の）大統領選での勝利後、多くの関心が寄せられた」「政治家は大抵、かなり退屈なものだが、（トランプ氏は）しばしば奇抜なことを口にするオンライン上の巨人だ」とＡＦＰに語った。
　数年間で数百個が売れたというトランプ像は、本人の「性格と真反対の姿」をしているため、顧客に受けているという。
　像が入っている箱には、トランプ氏のスローガンをもじった中国語で「あなたの会社を再び偉大に」というフレーズが印刷されている。
　■マスク氏像も
　洪氏は最近、トランプ政権で「政府効率化省」のトップに就く実業家のイーロン・マスク氏の像もデザインし始めた。
　大富豪マスク氏の像は、アメリカンコミックのスーパーヒーロー「アイアンマン」風のよろいをまとっている。さらにマスク氏が最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）を務める宇宙開発企業スペースＸが抱く銀河系進出の野望を象徴し、股間から大きなロケットが突き出ている。
　洪氏は「マスク氏のロケットは素晴らしい。彼はロケットの値段を大幅に下げた」「彼は個人の起業家として、国家ができないことを成し遂げた」とＡＦＰに語った。
　トランプ氏は新政権下で中国からの輸入品に高率関税を課すと公約するなど、強硬的な対中政策を掲げているが、「彼は以前と同じくらい面白いと思う」と洪氏は言う。「彼が大統領になると毎日面白いニュースがある」
　再び関心が高まっているにもかかわらず、中国国内のサイトではトランプ氏像は販売されていない。仏教徒に対する侮辱と見なされたのか、サイトから出品が削除されてしまったからだと洪氏は説明する。
　それでも工房を訪れる観光客や友人、知人からの注文は途切れることがない。トランプ氏が再び選ばれ、この像の人気も再び爆発しているという。それはおそらく「トランプ氏が多くの話題を持つ人物だからだ」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/01/15-19:01）

Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman's workshop in rural China the US president-elect sits in divine contemplation.
Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of America's divisive leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi.
The Zen-like figures -- which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (about $140 to $2,700) depending on their size -- first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines.
And ahead of the real estate magnate's inauguration for a second term, they have become hot property again.
In the days after he won the election there was a lot of interest, said Hong, who originally designed the statues as a joke.
Politicians are normally so boring, while (Trump) is this massive online figure who often says fantastical things, he told AFP.
Hong, 47, estimates that he has shifted hundreds of the ceramic creations in the last few years.
They raise a smile among customers because Trump's personality and the shape of the statue are two opposite extremes, he said.
Each figure comes in packaging emblazoned with a Chinese phrase that translates to Make your company great again, a play on Trump's well-worn slogan for restoring American supremacy.
Copycat versions have even appeared on shopping platforms in the United States -- including Amazon and Chinese-owned Temu -- for up to $45.
- Little rocket man -
It's a good laugh to poke some fun at authority figures and famous people, said Hong, sitting barefoot on the floor of his minimalist studio.
Hong's loose white clothing, shaved head, and softly spoken nature bear little resemblance to the eccentric subjects of his sculpting.
He recently began designing a similarly tongue-in-cheek effigy of another American luminary: Trump backer Elon Musk, who seems set to play a major role in his administration.
The statue casts the controversial billionaire in the style of the Marvel superhero Iron Man, clad in a rippling suit of metal armour.
In Hong's version, though, a large rocket protrudes from Musk's groin to symbolise the SpaceX CEO's galactic ambitions.
Despite toeing the line between homage and offence, Hong said he has a lot of admiration for Musk, whose electric-vehicle company Tesla operates a massive factory in Shanghai and enjoys robust sales in China.
Musk's rockets are awesome -- he's brought the price of rockets down a lot, he told AFP.
He has done, as an individual entrepreneur, what an entire country can't even do.
- Zen and the art of the deal -
Hong declined to comment on Trump's policies towards China, a sensitive topic in the Asian nation.
But many expect relations with the United States to deteriorate further after Trump's inauguration on January 20.
On the campaign trail, Trump took a tough line on Beijing, vowing even higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
He previously imposed onerous levies during a bruising trade war in his first term -- measures largely preserved by his successor Joe Biden.
Trump also angered Chinese leaders with his brash rhetoric, notably blaming Beijing for the decline of American manufacturing and calling the pathogen that causes Covid-19 the Chinese virus.
Yet the 78-year-old still appears to have many admirers in China.
I still think he's just as funny (as before), said Hong. Every day there's interesting news when he's president.
Despite the renewed interest, Hong no longer sells his Trump statues on Chinese sites after they removed his listings -- perhaps, he said, because they were deemed insulting to Buddhists.
Still, orders keep rolling in from tourists who visit Hong's workshop, as well as from friends and acquaintances.
Now he's been elected again, the sculpture has exploded in popularity once more, Hong said.
Perhaps, he added, it was because Trump is someone with a lot of backstory.