Someone Dressed the Statue (9 Photos)

Statues can’t pick their own outfits

So other people do it for them. A traffic cone in Glasgow, a scarf and a face mask in Gourock, a baby sling in Stockholm, knitting in Angers. Nine statues that someone dressed, from a joke Glasgow has kept going for about 40 years to a costume that is there for good.

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👶 Hjalmar Branting With a Baby Sling — By Arena Idé in Stockholm, Sweden 🇸🇪

The fist is still up, but there is a doll asleep on his chest. On International Men’s Day 2024, dads tied baby slings onto male statues in more than 20 places around Sweden, including this one at Norra Bantorget. The think tank Arena Idé was behind it. The bronze itself is part of Carl Eldh’s Branting Monument, unveiled in 1952.

💡 Leave Fact: The point was a number: according to Arena Idé, Swedish fathers were taking only 30.9 percent of paid parental leave days.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced facts#kvantitetstidspappan at the Branting MonumentArena Idé and local fathers · 2024 · Norra Bantorget, StockholmOne-day actionDoll in a baby sling20+ places in Sweden1Ordinary fathers put the slings on; the think tank Arena Idé was behind the campaign.Arena Idé2The campaign pointed out that Swedish fathers still take only 30.9 percent of paid parental leave days.Arena Idé202419 NovBranting on the list · Arena Idé202419 NovNationwide action · Aftonbladet202426 NovBranting in Stockholm · My Modern MetRead the full file →

More: When Statues Become Fathers

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🦹 Darth Vader Monument — By Alexander Milov in Odesa, Ukraine 🇺🇦

This costume is not coming off. In October 2015 Milov turned a Lenin statue in Odesa into Darth Vader, after Ukraine passed a law against communist monuments. It stands in a factory yard, with Lenin’s head left intact under the helmet and a Wi-Fi router built into it. The photo in the hand shows who stood there before.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDarth Vader MonumentAlexander Milov · 2015 · Pressmash factory, OdesaMade from a Lenin statueWi-Fi router in the helmetMore than 5 m tall1The factory’s Lenin was due to be removed under the decommunization law; workers and neighbours asked for it to be changed instead.Dumskaya2Milov told Radio Svoboda he first thought the Lenin was bronze, but it turned out to be plaster under a copper plate.Radio Svoboda201522 OctDumskaya: unveiling tomorrow201523 OctUNIAN photo, Oleg Kutsky20171 OctVgorode: how to visit202612 AugOfficial photo, plaque removedRead the full file →

More: Lenin Transformed Into Darth Vader in Odesa

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🏮 Lantern Bearers — By Emil Wikström in Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮

Emil Wikström’s granite giants have held their lamps on the front of Helsinki Central Station since 1914. When Finland recommended masks on public transport in 2020, they got masks too. This photo is from September 2020.

💡 Wardrobe Fact: They have also worn Finland’s ice hockey jerseys, and for Helsinki’s 475th birthday in June 2025 they were dressed in Helsinki shirts.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLantern BearersEmil Wikström · 1914 · Helsinki Central StationFour granite figuresGlobe lamps in their handsBears were the first plan1Eliel Saarinen first planned bears for the station facade, then commissioned Wikström to make four robust male figures.Helsinki Day2The 2020 masks carried VR’s logo, and on one statue the mask was on wrong, leaving its nose bare.Helsinki City Museum1914Completed at the main entrance202014 AugMasks on, Lehtikuva photo for Yle202013 SepOur photo, by Josefiina Alanen202022 SepHelsinki City Museum photo2022AugGoogle Street View20256–12 JunHelsinki birthday shirtsRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Helsinki Central station statues masks and Pride flag 2020-09-13” by Josefiina Alanen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🕊️ “Newspaper Pigeon” — By The Rebel Bear in Glasgow, Scotland 🇬🇧

In November 2025 the cone on the same Duke was swapped for a pigeon. It wears its own small cone and reads “The Daily Dropping.” STV News reported that it took the place of the cone the Duke had worn for most of the last 40 years.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsNewspaper PigeonThe Rebel Bear · 2025 · Duke of Wellington statue, GlasgowReads “The Daily Dropping”Wears a mini traffic coneBronze (STV)1According to STV, it replaced the statue’s famous traffic cone, which the Duke had worn for most of the last 40 years.STV News2A visitor wrote nine days later that whether it was a permanent addition was unknown.Brown Sign Blogging202516 NovArtist posts photos202517 NovSTV News report202517 NovGlasgow Live report202526 NovThe Tab report202526 NovVisitor’s photos, published202621 JulCones back, no pigeonRead the full file →

More: Unexpected Britain (12 Photos)

🔗 Follow The Rebel Bear on Instagram

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🧣 “Wee Annie” — By Angela Hunter in Gourock, Scotland 🇬🇧

Annie sits on her suitcase at the end of Kempock Street. In March 2020 she had a knitted scarf around her neck and a face mask over her mouth, while the street behind her stood empty.

💡 Name Fact: She went up in 2011 as “Girl on a Suitcase,” and local primary school children renamed her Annie soon after.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsWee AnnieAngela Hunter · 2011 · Kempock Street, GourockFirst called Girl on a SuitcaseNamed by schoolchildrenBucket and spade in hand1She was made to recall Gourock’s days as a holiday town, when the Clyde steamers left from its pier.Geograph2She spent about a year away during Gourock’s £5.2 million town-centre regeneration and came back in December 2015.Inverclyde Council201128 DecPhotographed by Thomas Nugent2015DecBack after town-centre works202022 MarIn scarf and face mask (our photo)202310 NovPhotographed without the mask2024AugGoogle Street ViewRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Wee Annie, Kempock Place, face mask” by dave souza / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🚧 Duke of Wellington — By Carlo Marochetti in Glasgow, Scotland 🇬🇧

Marochetti’s bronze Duke has sat on his horse outside what is now the Gallery of Modern Art since 1844. In July 2025 his hat was a stack of six traffic cones, and a gull had joined him on the horse.

💡 Cone Fact: The cone habit goes back to at least the 1980s. In 2013 the council planned to raise the plinth to about 6 feet to stop it, then dropped the plan after a petition with more than 10,000 signatures.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDuke of WellingtonCarlo Marochetti · 1844 · Royal Exchange Square, GlasgowBronze equestrian statueCategory A listedConed since the 1980s1Historic Environment Scotland lists the statue as “Baron Marochetti, 1844. Bronze equestrian statue”.Historic Environment Scotland2In 2013 the council dropped a £65,000 plan to raise the plinth after more than 10,000 people signed a petition for the cone.ABC News1844Erected · listing record200230 MayNewsletter: “regularly targeted”201314 NovRaised-plinth plan dropped20252 JulSix cones and a gull, by Zeete202517 NovCone swapped for a pigeon · STV2026MarConed on Google Street View202621 JulCones on Duke and horse, by Richard SutcliffeRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Duke of Wellington statue, Glasgow – traffic cone hat and gull, 2025” by Zeete / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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✈️ Alcock and Brown — By William McMillan in Weybridge, England 🇬🇧

Flying helmets, goggles, fur collars, and in August 2021 two face masks with the museum’s name on them. The pair now stand at Brooklands Museum, where the plane they flew was built.

💡 Flight Fact: On June 14–15, 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Clifden in Ireland, in a Vickers Vimy built at Brooklands. Their statue stood at Heathrow Airport from 1954 and moved to Brooklands in 2020.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAlcock and BrownWilliam McMillan · 1954 · Brooklands Museum, WeybridgeLimestone (Heathrow)At Heathrow from 195411 feet tall1The British Government commissioned the statue, and it was unveiled at Heathrow Airport in 1954.Brooklands Museum2In May 2019 it travelled to Clifden in Ireland for eight weeks, for the centenary of the first non-stop transatlantic flight.Heathrow1954Unveiled at Heathrow201529 DecOutside the Heathrow Academy20197 MayLeaves Heathrow for Clifden201915 MayOn show in Clifden202010 FebUnveiled at Brooklands20217 AugOur photo, masked (camera date)202212 MarPhotographed by Rob FarrowRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Alcock and Brown, wearing face masks” by 35mmMan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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🧶 Yarn-Bombed Statue — Jardin du Mail, Angers, France 🇫🇷

A stone woman in the Jardin du Mail gets a red knitted hat, a long striped scarf and one green knitted sleeve. The posts around her are wrapped in yarn, with a knitted web strung between them. The photographer took it during a yarn bombing in the park in May 2012.

📷 Photo: “Angers – Sculpture Yarn Bombing” by Founzy / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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😷 Prometheus — Montevideo, Uruguay 🇺🇾

Prometheus and his eagle, and only one of them in a mask. In May 2020 Montevideo’s city government put masks on several of its monuments for its #UsáTapabocas campaign.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsPrometeo encadenadoJuan Manuel Ferrari · 1952 · Plaza Isabel la Católica, MontevideoPrometheus BoundAn eagle at his side#UsáTapabocas campaign1The monument was inaugurated in central Montevideo only in 1952, 36 years after Ferrari’s death.Ministry of Education and Culture2In 2020 the city put a face mask on Prometheus, but not on his eagle, for its #UsáTapabocas campaign.Intendencia de Montevideo / Wikimedia Commons1952Inaugurated in Montevideo20114 OctPhotographed in the square20135 SepPhotographed by Monte San Savino20204 MayMasked, Intendencia photoRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Monumento intervenido para fomentar el uso del barbijo COVID19 MVD 01” by Agustín Fernández Gabard / Intendencia de Montevideo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)