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You can see the whole Earth from the Moon!

A lifesize gold statue of Kate Moss as a 

“modern-day Aphrodite” with her legs 

tucked behind her head has been 

unveiled at the British Museum.

It is the largest gold statue made by man 

since ancient Egyptian times, weighing 50kg, 

around the same as its subject.

Artist Marc Quinn, whose previous works include the sculpture of a pregnant woman with no arms or legs on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, 

said Siren cost £1.5m to make, £1m of which was for the gold.

He expects it to fetch up to £10m when it is sold following its time with the British Museum in January.

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Mr Quinn said he saw Miss Moss, who posed for him for a day though not in the position of the statue, as a “modern day Aphrodite”.

“For Kate, she thinks it lifts her into 

a mythical level,” he said. “

I think she very much loved it because 

she understands the difference between 

her image and her self.

“The sculpture is really about whether we 

make images or they make us. 

It’s about trying to live up to impossible 

dreams and immortality.”

Siren is one of several contemporary sculptures in the exhibition Statuephilia.With the price of the statue’s material soaring in the current financial crisis, Mr Quinn said his Siren’s unveiling was timely.

“If there was a war or anarchy this will be 

melted down and turned into bullion, 

so it’s a canary in a cage down a mineshaft.”

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