President Joko Widodo inaugurated a 121 meter statue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) located in Ungasan Village, South Kuta, Badung, Bali. 

"On this beautiful evening, I am very happy to be able to attend with you, ladies and gentlemen, to witness the masterpiece of the nation, the statue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana," President Joko Widodo said at Cultural Park GWK, Badung, Bali on Saturday night. 

Present at the inauguration were First Lady Irina Joko Widodo, 5th Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri, 6th Vice President Try Sutrisno, Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster and other state officials.

"I call a masterpiece because the statue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana is one of the largest copper sculptures in the world. The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue is the 3rd highest statue in the world," said the President. 

The statue of GWK, according to the President, is the third tallest statue in the world after The Spring Temple Buddha in China and The Laykyun Sekkya Buddha in Myanmar. 

"I was given an explanation that this statue is higher than the Statue of Liberty in the United States. The completion of this masterpiece not only boasts the people of Bali, the Balinese people but also boasts all the people of Indonesia," said the President. 

With the realization of the statue of GWK since the beginning of its construction 28 years ago, according to the President, shows that Indonesia is also able to present cultural works in the present.

"Because this proves to be a great nation we not only inherit the great works of the nation's civilization of the past, the beautiful ones like Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple but in the present era our nation can also work, can be creative to build a civilization, to give birth to masterpieces the new one, which also amazes us all, is also recognized and admired by the world, "said the President. 

The President also expressed his gratitude for the perseverance of the artist Nyoman Nuarta who diligently embodied the GBK statue along with other artists.

"Thank you and appreciation to Mr. Nyoman Nuarta for your great ideas, courage and for the efforts so far, of course the big idea was also supported by reliable art workers, who worked at a height of 121 meters to produce this masterpiece," said the President. 

The big idea was also supported by many parties, the support of the government and the people of Bali and the private sector who wanted the artists' big dreams to materialize. 

The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue is a form of Lord Vishnu riding a garuda. In Hinduism, Lord Vishnu is the God of Preserver (Sthiti). 

The statue has a height of 121 meters or 271 meters above sea level (asl) which is built on an area of ​​60 hectares.

The making of this sculpture underwent a long process which was 28 years by artist and designer Nyoman Nuarta. The process of making copper sculpture uses cast welding techniques for 754 modules. One module is 4x3 meters in weight and weighs approximately 1 ton. 

The making of the statue involved 1,000 workers who were divided into two, namely 400 workers in Bandung and 600 workers in Bali. 

Source : https://bali.antaranews.com