A Ron DeSantis monument built to melt became 350 Action’s climate protest

A statue normally promises permanence. In Tallahassee, a life-size figure of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis began losing its shape shortly after being unveiled.

The deterioration was the point.

Called “DENIAL”, the installation was created by climate advocacy group 350 Action with Uncommon and production company M ss ng p eces. Unveiled on 13 October 2026, it used gallium, a metal with a melting point of approximately 29.8°C.

The creators chose a material that could fail in Florida’s heat. As the surface melted, the figure’s face gave way to a skull beneath it, turning an apparently celebratory monument into an accusation about climate policy.

The material carried the argument

The installation depended on a physical change people could witness. Its subject remained recognisable at first, giving the audience time to read it as a conventional civic statue.

Then the material undermined that impression.

Gallium’s low melting point made the sculpture unstable by design. The campaign connected that vulnerability to its criticism of leaders who dismiss climate concerns.

The melting was a deliberately engineered metaphor. It used the relationship between temperature and material to dramatise the organisers’ message, rather than serving as a measurement of climate change.

That distinction helped define the creative device. The work took an abstract political position and gave it a visible, changing form.

The plaque tied the spectacle to a public record

The monument referred to HB 1645, the energy legislation DeSantis signed in 2024 that removed climate-change language from parts of Florida law.

Its plaque also carried his statement, “I am not a global warming person.”

Those details gave the installation a specific target. Viewers could connect the melting figure with a named politician, a quotation and a legislative decision.

The use of a monument sharpened the criticism. Public statues often preserve a flattering version of a leader’s legacy. “DENIAL” borrowed that format while building deterioration into the tribute.

The skull supplied another stage in that reversal. As the exterior slipped away, the image became more unsettling, giving the installation a progression that could also be captured in photographs and film.

The campaign connected the installation to a voting pledge

“DENIAL” appeared ahead of the US midterm elections. Its accompanying campaign asked people to sign a pledge supporting climate-conscious candidates.

350 Action framed that invitation as a call to “deny the deniers”, turning the installation’s title into the language of its wider electoral message.

The public artwork supplied the initial encounter. The pledge gave interested viewers a next step beyond watching or sharing the melting statue.

That connection made the work more than a standalone visual joke. Its material, subject and timing all supported the same campaign argument, with the familiar language of a civic tribute becoming a vehicle for protest.

Credits

Organisation: 350 Action. Creative partner: Uncommon. Production company: M ss ng p eces. Installation: “DENIAL”. Location: Tallahassee, Florida. Unveiled: 13 October 2026.