she installs a giant replica of the Statue of Liberty in her garden

A resident of Excenevex, in Haute-Savoie, has an imposing replica of the Statue of Liberty in her garden. The monument, almost 6 meters high, has particular importance for its owner, Gisèle Gantin.

In Gisèle Gantin's garden sits a very American symbol: the Statue of Liberty. At the home of this passionate collector, based in Excenevex (Haute-Savoie), a giant model of the New York icon has been installed. “When I saw the photo, I had to have it. I couldn't sleep because I wanted it so much, and finally, my dream came true”she confides, moved.

Recovered in 2013 from a Savoyard nightclub, this resin replica nevertheless experienced many adventures before finding refuge in Haute-Savoie: “Initially, she arrived for an advertisement. She wandered around Chambéry for years and no one wanted her until she ended up in an industrial area. (…) There was a telephone number, so I called. It was for sale”, she remembers.

My husband, who was twenty years older than me, was jealous. He didn't go out and forbade me to go out.

Gisèle Gantin's attachment to this symbol of freedom dates back to her adolescence. At the age of 12, she discovers that there is a universal figure who embodies the right to freedom, a right of which she had been deprived throughout her childhood: “My father was very strict, we had no friends and were not allowed to go out or move around,” she says, before revealing that even her second marriage did not bring her this much-desired freedom: “My husband, who was twenty years older than me, was jealous. He didn't go out and forbade me to go out.”

The giant replica of the Auguste Bartholdi monument will finally be installed in his garden. “The young people who had recovered it agreed to sell it to me. For me, it was the dream of my life. I was deprived of my freedom for 40 years. The Statue of Liberty is the most beautiful symbol of the world”, she whispers.

5.6 meters high and nearly 500 kg heavy, this statue is, according to the collector, “approximately the scale of the real one, that of New York. To put it in the garden, it was very complicated“, she remembers.

For her, this statue is the best gift she received: “She reminds me that I am free, even more so since my husband died. At first he told me I was crazy, but eventually he gave in. ÇIt fell on Mother's Day, he bought it for me.” she smiled.

For 11 years, this “Lady Liberty” has become the centerpiece of her garden, but time is starting to leave its mark. “We should clean it, but I'm afraid of heights, and it's full of cracks in the wind.” she admits.

In Gisèle's house, the Statue of Liberty is omnipresent: gadgets, paintings, lamps, posters… “In my opinion, I don't have enough. I need to find more, but unfortunately we're making more of them. I'm always looking for something different.”

Today, Gisèle has one last dream: to overcome her fear of flying to go see the real Statue of Liberty in New York. “I don't want to do anything other than see the statue. The other trips don't matter… But I'm going to do this one.”