Amazonian Caiman God

In 2023, the city of Wakefield inaugurated a sculpture trail to add some vibrance to the city center.  Most of the sculptures on the trail are generally abstract and uncontroversial, but the Amazonian Caiman God by artist Jason Wilsher-Mills stands out for its unusual postmodern depiction of a tribal deity, and it has drawn much more attention than any other sculpture on the trail.

The god’s headdress, which is shaped like a caiman’s head, and the wings mark this figure out as a supernatural entity, while the glove marked “love” and the heart on the outside of the statue’s chest indicate that the figure is also a love god. However, the figure appears to be wearing casual modern-day clothes, which includes wearing his underwear on the outside, and this has the effect of making him look much less serious.  Sharp-eyed individuals may notice the leg braces that the god is wearing, which the wheelchair-bound artist incorporated to reflect his own disability.

Notably, the figure is holding in his outstretched right hand a small boat with two small winged people standing within it.  These figures represent Wilsher-Mills’s parents, who met near the site where the statue is now located.

Modern methods were used to create the richly-textured statue.  Wilsher-Mills designed the sculpture on a computer, and then it was 3-D printed in resin.  The resin version was then cast in bronze to produce the version of the statue on display.

Unfortunately, many local residents objected to the installation of the statue across the street from Wakefield Cathedral.  They generally felt that it was inappropriate to have a depiction of a non-Christian deity so close to the city’s largest religious institution.  However, the dean of Wakefield himself supported the installation of the statue in the city center and encouraged others to look beyond the depiction of the Amazonian god itself to understand the deeper concepts that are symbolized by the statue.