I guess this will be the closest the fans of the late Whitney Houston
will ever get to see her up-close. Four wax figures
of the late singer which represent four different points of her illustrious career were specially commissioned by Madame Tussauds and each one of them will be displayed at different locations in the United States. I had often wondered why no efforts were made to
have her wax figures made when she was still around especially during 'The Bodyguard' period. She was unjustifiably overlooked when other celebrities who are less famous and less popular
have had at least one wax figure made. The pictures of the wax figures have been released all over the Internet and I have to say that there is only one of them that I truly like. The one in the tracksuit has too much make-up on her although her eyes look very real though. Anyone who saw the iconic 'Star-Spangled Banner' moment will know that Whitney was not wearing much make-up at that time. It is clearly an 'idealised' version of Whitney during that Super Bowl pre-game ceremony. The curly hair, bead earrings and light lavender tank dress on the second one are fabulous and but from the angle the picture was taken, something about her countenance is missing. It could be her upper lip which looks a little bit thin or it could be the eyes. The third one is not too bad actually except for the upper arms which look very strange to me. The last one is the only one I like. If I were given a chance to choose only one, this is the one that I would pick. It is iconic. It speaks of an era and time. It has an 'attitude'. It clearly stands out from the rest. I can definitely do without the first and the second. I'd rather have her figures copied either from the 'Greatest Love Of All' video (in which she wears a sequined dress and her hair combed from the nape up) or the 'It's Not Right But It's Okay' video (that pseudo S&M outfit is simply fierce!). I know I shouldn't be complaining too much since I know 'nada' about how these figures were constructed. All I know is they cost up to US$300,000 each. I also realise that there was a lot of work involved in constructing these figures but I can still have my opinion, can't I? As much as I admire the craftsmanship of these figures and also the efforts taken, I don't think I would like to be at the revealing of these figures if I were family. In fact, I wouldn't want to see them at all. It will be too eerie for me since they are of actual size and look very lifelike. It's almost like bringing back the dead when you know they are no longer around. Pictures and portraits are different since they are not three dimensional but not life-size sculptures and figures. Well, I guess some people do feel differently...
