A Brazilian city is on the verge of completing a sculpture of Jesus Christ that will rival and even dominate over Rio de Janeiro's famous 'Christ The Redeemer' Statue.

In the city of Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, a sculptor Genésio Gomes Moura and his son Markus, financed by the Friends of Christ Association, in 2019 embarked on the project to erect the tallest sculpture of Jesus in Brazil, dwarfing the 90-year-old Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer's statue with five meters.

The sculpture which is currently under construction depicts the Christian Messiah with arms outstretched as if on the cross, and will stand more than 140 feet tall (43 meters) with its pedestal, with a wingspan of more than 90 feet wide. 

Construction began in 2019 after the then mayor of the city, Adroaldo Conzatti, who died of COVID-19 in March 2021, conceived the idea to create their own statue of Christ which is to be called 'Christ The Protector' (Portuguese: Cristo Protetor).

Displacing its Rio de Janeiro's counterpart as the world's third tallest statue of Christ, 'Christ The Protector' sculpture will now be dwarfed only by Indonesia's Jesus Buntu Burake or 'Statue of Jesus Christ Blessing' (the world's tallest at 172.4 feet) and Poland's 'Monument of Christ the King' (world's second tallest at 172 feet).

With the head and arms already formed, the $350,000 project is expected to be completed later in the year. According to the organizers, when completed and opened to the public, an internal lift will take tourists to a viewpoint in the chest region, which is about 40 meters up. From there, tourists will be able to view the surrounding valley and countryside below from an observation platform in at the heart of the statue.

The Christ the Redeemer statue which falls in at 124 feet (38 meters) tall, was created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa in conjunction with French engineer Albert Caquot and Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida, and has been Brazil's most visible landmark and a cultural icon for both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. A major monument of Christianity, it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and has a UNESCO world heritage site status. 

With the emergence of the newest Christ statue, it is left to be seen if the dominance and popularity of Christ the Redeemer will still be the same in Brazil and to tourists. One thing that is certain is that the city of Encantado has just put their name on the world tourism map.

Sculptures aren't just objects of art, they are a proof of culture, identity and history. Indulge  your space with authentic sculptures by artists from African and Africa disapora. There are a lot with interesting stories behind them on offer at Aworanka, the online aggregator of African art and art galleries.