14 DAY TRIAL // The Madame Tussauds wax museum in Hong Kong unveiled its wax rendition of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, this October 5.
The unveiling was meant as a tribute, taking place on the day that marks a year since Jobs' passing, in Palo Alto, California. A pioneer in the PC world, Jobs was chairman and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. since co-founding the company in 1976. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2003, and resigned as Apple CEO in August 2011.
The figure portrays Jobs wearing his trademark black turtleneck sweater and custom-made Lunor glasses. The makers tried to recreate a Fortune Magazine front cover in 2006, in which he is folding his arms and attempts a smile.
According to anewdomain.net, HK $1,500,000, which translates to almost $200,000, went into building the wax statue. Wax sculptors, make-up artists and hair colorists worked for three months to complete the realistic rendition of Jobs.
Designer Chan Yik Hei lead the team throughout the process. He described the exhausting routine, that implied inserting hairs one by one after a first clay figure was created.
“The techniques used to create the figure (employed) the same tools and methods first employed by Madame Tussaud herself over two hundred years ago. The sculptors have anatomical knowledge to ensure every bone, muscle and tendon is replicated correctly according to the pose.
“When the clay sculpture is formed, each strand of hair is inserted one by one into the wax head by hand using a forked needle. Once complete, the hair is washed, cut and styled. Moreover, each iris is hand painted … and veining is added to the whites of the eyes with fine silk threads,” Chan Yik Hei explained.
The wax figure will be displayed in Hong Kong until November 26, 2012, after which it is taken on a tour to Madame Tussauds locations in Bangkok and Shanghai.