Rihanna is the new star of the Berlin Biennale thanks to this huge, headless statue

The headless Rihanna statue on display in Berlin. Photo / Instagram

A massive, headless statue of Rihanna has popped up in Berlin.

The statue is an outdoor sculpture by Colombian artist Juan Sebastián Peláez, which was unveiled at the weekend as part of the ninth Berlin Biennale for contemporary art.

It's a giant cutout image of the pop star in her bikini, with her head removed and her face imposed onto her chest instead.

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Yep. That's real. #BerlinBiennale

A post shared by What Would Rihanna Do? (@wwrd_online) on Jun 5, 2016 at 9:01am PDT

It's called Ewaipanoma, and is described the the Berlin Biennale as "hinting at the sometimes monstrous body modifications typical of celebrity culture", as well as being a reference to "longstanding projections of otherness".

The Biennale says Peláez was inspired by drawings from 16th century explorers such as Sir Walter Raleigh, who "on returning home described having encountered so-called "Blemmyae," headless natives with faces on their upper, naked bodies".

The piece is part of a series in which all of the works feature similar oversized cut-outs of people - usually in either swimwear or glamourous gowns - all with their faces on their chests.

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#jlo #redcarpet #acefalos #blemmyae #oscars #JuanSebastiánPeláez

A post shared by Juan Sebastián Peláez (@juansebastianpelaez) on Feb 22, 2015 at 8:24pm PST

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#ewaipanoma #JuanSebastiánPeláez

A post shared by Juan Sebastián Peláez (@juansebastianpelaez) on Jun 14, 2015 at 11:29am PDT