This is a scale re-creation of the original Tiananmen Square “Goddess of Democracy”, created by students at the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing. This statue was modeled after the Statue of Liberty and constructed in only four days, out of foam and papier-mâché over a metal armature. The constructors decided to make the statue as large as possible so the government would be unable to dismantle it. The government would either have to destroy the statue, an action which would potentially fuel further criticism of its policies, or leave it standing. Despite these efforts, the statue was destroyed by soldiers clearing the square of protestors, but has been reproduced a number of times.
The reproduction in the University of Calgary’s MacEwen Student Centre was erected by the Chinese Students Society, the Students Union, the University of Calgary, and the Alliance for a Democratic China. The sculpture commemorates the students who died during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989.