This Oscars statue has a drug problem

Hollywood’s worst kept secret was exposed in broad daylight this week, in the form of a giant Oscar statuette Hoovering a massive line of coke. The statue is the latest work from Plastic Jesus, a Los Angeles-based street artist known for making pointed social commentary through outlandish public installations. Around this time last year, Plastic Jesus installed an eight-foot Oscar statue plunging a needle into its arm, just a few weeks after actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a heroin overdose.

This year’s statue, planted in front of Elvis Presley’s star on Hollywood Boulevard, focuses on a similar theme, unmasking Hollywood’s dark underbelly of drug addiction with the industry’s most prestigious iconography. The gold Oscar is crouched on all fours over the lines of cocaine, and a plaque affixed to its base reads “Hollywood’s Best Party.”

“The piece is intended to draw attention to Hollywood’s hidden problem of drug addiction that effects [sic] hundreds of people in the showbiz industry and is largely ignored until the death of a high profile A list celebrity,” said photographer Nick Stern in a statement on Plastic Jesus’ behalf.

The 87th Academy Awards will be held this Sunday in Los Angeles.