‘Boy in watermelon’ statue baffles people

DİYARBAKIR

A statue of “boy in watermelon” erected by the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality recently at the city’s entrance caught the attention of social media users and has become a subject of online trolling.

Mocking the statue, people compared it to “Chucky,” a killer doll character in a famous Hollywood horror movie.

The municipality, led by the governor of the province after the Interior Ministry suspended the mayor in August 2019, posted a message on its website on April 6, saying, “The municipality will soon welcome visitors with a new landscaping at the airport junction, the entrance of the city.”

Officials later erected four statues in the region, resembling “halay [traditional Turkish dance] dancers,” “a man showing a tray of baklava [traditional Turkish dessert],” “a bracelet and a chain” and “boy in watermelon.”

While promoting the statues on social media, the municipality especially highlighted “boy in watermelon” statue, saying, “Let the world see the famous watermelon of Diyarbakır.”

The municipality also posted some original photos of children sitting in watermelons, saying, “If a child can fit in a watermelon, then it is a Diyarbakır watermelon.”

The southeastern province of Diyarbakır is famous and well-known for its large-sized watermelons.

The promotions on social media backfired as people mocked the statues, especially of “boy in watermelon,” sometimes comparing it to the killer doll “Chucky,” or “Shrek,” a Hollywood animation character, or Kim Jong-un, the dictator of North Korea.

Local officials who were being criticized defended the statutes and the promotion.

“People showing ‘disgrace’ to the statues is due to their disgraceful intention,” said Ramazan Kızılkaya, the head of the media department of the governor’s office.

Our philosophy is “one who sees good, thinks good,” he added.