X

Trump's hands may not be small, but his wall is

Los Angeles street artist Plastic Jesus erects a miniature border wall, complete with razor wire, around The Donald's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Leslie Katz Former Culture Editor
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
Credentials
  • Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
Leslie Katz
2 min read
trump-hollywood-wall-desktop-0009.jpg
Enlarge Image
trump-hollywood-wall-desktop-0009.jpg
Nick Stern

Trump asked for a wall. Trump got a wall.

Only this one's not the one he's been proposing all these months. It's an itty-bitty wooden wall surrounding Trump's star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's 6 inches tall, complete with yellow "Caution border: Keep out" signs and topped with razor wire and mini American flags, and it's sure to be far less controversial than the Republican presidential nominee's imagined barrier along the US-Mexico border.

Los Angeles photographer and street artist Plastic Jesus erected the wall on the famous sidewalk Tuesday, the day Trump formally became the Republican nominee following a delegate tally at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

It remained around Trump's star, neighbor to Kevin Spacey's five-pointed terrazzo and brass symbol, until Wednesday afternoon, when the artist found the piece removed from the star and standing on its edge propped against a light post.

"When it was out, people were actually flocking there to photograph it," the artist told CNET. "It caused quite a commotion on Hollywood Boulevard."

The British-born artist, who's lived in the US for nine years, often creates works inspired by world news, culture and politics. "Plastic Jesus is not about revolution," a bio on his site reads. "He is not an anarchist but would like to see some changes around the place. His work is more about shining a small light into some of those dark corners of society."

One of those dark corners, in Plastic Jesus' eyes, involves Trump's views on immigration reform. "I wanted something that was going to attack Trump's policies rather than make it a personal attack on him," he said of the tiny wall.

Plastic Jesus has also crafted and sells "No Trump Anytime" signs in the style of those ubiquitous "No Parking Anytime" signs seen on US streets. He shared images of the signs on Instagram with the hashtag #nevertrump.

It's not clear whether Plastic Jesus would ever say "I'm with her," but it's pretty safe to assume the artist would be comfortable with an "I'm not with him" label.

trump-hollywood-wall-desktop-0008.jpg
Enlarge Image
trump-hollywood-wall-desktop-0008.jpg
Nick Stern