‘Momo is dead’: Artist destroys sculpture that terrified children in online challenge

The artist behind the sculpture which terrified children as part of the Momo Challenge said he’s destroyed the artwork.

Tokyo-based sculptor Keisuke Aiso, 43, told The Sun kids shouldn’t fear Momo anymore as he’s torn down the sculpture. The sculptor claims he threw it out after he found out about the Momo Challenge last year.

The 43-year-old originally created the work in 2016 and titled it Mother Bird before it was hijacked and posted in children’s YouTube videos.

Mr Aiso told the paper children “can be reassured Momo is dead”.

“She doesn’t exist and the curse is gone,” he told The Sun.

The Tokyo resident said while he feels guilty for how his artwork was used it was always his intention to use Mother Bird to scare people.

But it was never meant to cause physical harm to children or make them harm themselves, Mr Aiso added.

News of the challenge first emerged last year when a 12-year-old girl’s suicide in Argentina was thought to have been motivated by the so-called Momo game, but no link between the two has yet been proven.

Described as the “suicide game”, it allegedly entices children to add a contact into their phones and then instructs them to complete increasingly dangerous tasks in secret with the threat of harming their families if they do not comply.

However, British cyberpsychologist Dr Dawn Branley-Bell believes the challenge is nothing more than a hoax, which is spreading like wildfire due to its sensationalist nature, ultimately creating unnecessary worry for parents.

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