Chilean Artist Provokes Controversy with Political Sculpture Installation in Madrid
Chilean artist Nico Miranda ignited heated debate at the Madrid Wax Museum by portraying Argentine President Javier Milei as a lapdog of U.S. President Donald Trump, and depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “Chuky,” the malevolent doll from popular culture, reports 24brussels.
Miranda and his team covertly accessed the museum, placing their provocative sculptures in the Oval Office room display beside the figure of Donald Trump. The installation and subsequent photography occurred in a span of approximately 20 to 30 minutes, all without the museum’s authorization.
The exhibition featured additional figures represented as rats with the faces of various Spanish politicians, further amplifying the political commentary reflected in Miranda’s work.
Describing his installation as “action art and contextual art,” Miranda stated the intent to intertwine the museum’s environment with pressing global matters, explicitly referencing the ongoing “genocide in Gaza.”
El artista Nico Miranda intervino la reproducción del Despacho Oval de la Casa Blanca en Museo de #Cera de #Madrid . En su acción insertó esculturas de #Netanyahu, #Milei, Abascal, Mar tínez-Almeida e #Ayuso, bajo la figura de #Trump, configurando una escena de crítica política pic.twitter.com/dGNmJ4WNBa
— Sir Leighton (@sirleighton) October 7, 2025
This incident marks a continuation of Miranda’s controversial work; in 2023, he placed an unauthorized sculpture of King Juan Carlos I in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. Known for his provocative, site-specific interventions, Miranda’s art challenges prevailing political and cultural narratives.
His creations effectively blend mass culture, satire, and contextual critique to reinterpret public spaces, pushing audiences to reconsider familiar settings. Employing symbols from popular culture and politics, Miranda crafts rhetorical puzzles that invite deeper analysis. He classifies his practice as “art of action” and “art contextual,” underscoring the need for situational awareness and global relevance in artistic interventions.
Miranda’s portfolio frequently explores themes of identity, power structures, and Western decadence, employing satire and visual metaphors. He holds a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from Universidad de Chile and a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts with a specialization in Sculpture from Universidad ARCIS. His teaching career at Universidad de Chile spanned from 2011 to 2016.
Exhibitions of his work have taken place at notable institutions, including the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Santiago, Galería Metropolitana in Santiago, Galería Pabellón 4 in Buenos Aires, Saatchi Gallery in London, and Feria PINTA in Miami.