A soap oddity

[A-Polly]

Just learned of a fascinating soap tidbit, but not about making, using or selling. In London's Cavendish Square, an empty plinth stands where the original statue of the Duke of Cumberland — known as the "Butcher of Culloden" and very unpopular — was removed in the 1800s. In 2012 (in time for the Olympics, I guess?) an artist was commissioned to replace the missing statue with one made of soap! The idea was that it would gradually dissolve away "releasing a perfumed aroma" in the course of a year or so. Lush was reported to have been a sponsor and perhaps provided the soap. Unfortunately, the soap figure of the Duke on horseback was much more durable than expected. Instead of dissolving, the soap hardened and cracked and discolored, with some pieces falling off to expose the metal armature. It wasn't removed until 2016, 4 years after installation!

 

[paradisi]

Wonder what the coating was that Lush waterproofed it with.

 

[basti]

The artist's name is Shin Meekyoung, a sculptor who works in soap. She's fascinated by the ephemerality of a statue that slowly disappears. She's been making soap sculptures for nearly 30 years. Some of her other sculptures have a coat of varnish on them, which may have halted the natural dissolving, but that's just a guess on my side.

The soap used was donated by Lush, but they weren't involved in the actual sculpting. As an additional fun fact, its a palm free vegan recipe.

A pair of her sculptures, once identical.
One was on display, the other was in the museum bathroom able to be used and worn down and weathered by museum visitors.

 

[A-Polly]

Oh that's fascinating — thanks so much for the additional information! I did see the sculptor's name in the brief article where I found the pictures but all the additional links were broken. Wouldn't it have been cool if the Cavendish Square statue had melted and become featureless like the one in your photo!