Marking a major milestone in his visual art journey, the Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture takes center stage as part of the special projects at Contemporary Istanbul. Image: Instagram/Contemporary Istanbul
Johnny Depp turns a recurring childhood image into The Bunnyman, his first sculpture in white bronze. Explore its story and artistic meaning.
BY ARTCENTRON ART NEWS DESK
Johnny Depp has taken one of the most personal images in his visual-art practice from paper into three dimensions. Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture is a two-meter white-bronze work that marked the actor and artist’s first major sculptural presentation at Contemporary Istanbul in September 2026.
The sculpture appeared outdoors at Tersane Istanbul, the historic shipyard on the Golden Horn. It formed part of the fair’s outdoor sculpture program. The 21st edition of Contemporary Istanbul brought international artists and galleries to Istanbul from September 22 to 27, 2026. The Bunnyman was among the fair’s special projects.
The presentation gave Depp’s recurring Bunnyman figure a new physical presence. The character has appeared in his drawings, paintings, and prints for years. Now, the figure exists as a monumental sculpture.
What is Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture?
The Bunnyman is a two-meter white-bronze sculpture by Johnny Depp. The figure combines human and rabbit characteristics. It also carries what has been described as a “sword of truth.”
The character is not new to Depp’s art. The Bunnyman has appeared across his visual work, including the Bunnyman Genesis and Friends & Heroes series. The sculpture represents the first time Depp has translated the recurring figure into a large three-dimensional work.
That transition changes how audiences encounter the character. A drawing occupies a flat surface. A sculpture occupies real space. Viewers can walk around it and experience its scale from different angles. The Bunnyman sculpture therefore moves beyond illustration and becomes a physical presence.
The move from drawing to sculpture also places Depp within a broader conversation about monumental art. ARTCENTRON has explored that subject through coverage of large-scale works and public sculpture. For example, read about Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue on the Fourth Plinth, another monumental sculpture presented in a highly visible public setting.
What inspired The Bunnyman by Johnny Depp?
The story behind Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture begins with a childhood memory. According to information associated with the project, Depp’s son Jack made a drawing when he was about five years old. The drawing reminded Depp of a recurring dream from his own childhood.
Depp has described the dream as involving a mysterious, faceless figure. It appeared at the top of a basement staircase in the Kentucky home where he grew up. Seeing his son’s drawing brought that memory back.
The connection between the drawing and the dream gave The Bunnyman a lasting place in Depp’s visual practice. The character subsequently appeared in paintings, drawings, and prints. Over time, it became one of the recurring symbols associated with his art.
The story also adds a personal dimension to the sculpture. The Bunnyman did not begin as a conventional public monument or commercial commission. It grew from memory, family, and imagination.
That relationship between personal memory and artistic creation is also visible in Depp’s wider visual practice. ARTCENTRON explores those themes in its coverage of Johnny Depp’s art exhibition in Shanghai: Figures of the Fringe.
From childhood drawing to monumental sculpture
Transforming The Bunnyman from a two-dimensional image into sculpture required a significant change in scale and technique. Depp worked with the Sigg Art Foundation and Pantheon Art on the project. The sculpture was cast in Milan by Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, an Italian foundry with more than 110 years of experience in artistic bronze production.
The foundry used the lost-wax casting process. Fonderia Artistica Battaglia has a long history of working with artists and bronze sculpture. Its official website provides further information about the foundry and its casting practice. Domus
Lost-wax casting allows an artist and specialist foundry to translate a model into metal while preserving detailed surface qualities. In the case of Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture, the process helped carry the figure into a durable three-dimensional form.
The casting process also has a personal connection to the work. Reporting on the sculpture has linked the sand used during production to Depp’s recollection of sand moving inside the figure in his childhood dream.
The result is more than an enlarged drawing. Bronze gives the character weight, volume, and permanence. The transformation also recalls the challenges involved in moving monumental art from the studio into public spaces. ARTCENTRON examines those logistical issues in its article on oversized artwork deliveries.
Why White Bronze?
The sculpture’s white-bronze appearance gives The Bunnyman a distinctive visual identity. Rather than using a traditional dark bronze finish, the pale surface creates a more enigmatic figure. It also makes the sculpture stand out against the industrial surroundings of Tersane, Istanbul.
The surface becomes especially important when viewers encounter the work outdoors. Light moves across the bronze as people approach it from different directions. That effect became part of the sculpture’s presentation in Istanbul. The work could be viewed against the architecture and waterfront rather than inside a conventional gallery.
Why Tersane Istanbul Matters
The location added another layer to Johnny Depp’s first sculptural presentation. Tersane Istanbul occupies the site of the historic Tersane-i Amire, the Ottoman Imperial Shipyard on the Golden Horn. The waterfront complex now combines its industrial heritage with contemporary cultural programming. Türkiye Today
For Contemporary Istanbul 2026, Tersane Istanbul provided an outdoor setting for large-scale sculpture and special projects. The location placed contemporary art within an environment shaped by centuries of maritime history.
That setting gave The Bunnyman sculpture a strong visual contrast. The pale bronze figure stood against industrial architecture and the waterfront. This created a very different encounter from viewing the work inside a conventional gallery.
Monumental sculpture often changes meaning according to its surroundings. A sculpture inside a gallery creates one kind of encounter. A large figure beside a historic shipyard creates another. The Bunnyman therefore became part of the landscape rather than simply another work inside an art fair booth.
This approach reflects a wider interest in public sculpture. ARTCENTRON’s coverage of Lady in Blue examines how monumental sculpture can interact with architecture, public space, and civic identity.
Johnny Depp The Bunnyman and the idea of memory
Memory sits at the center of The Bunnyman. The character connects three moments. First came Depp’s childhood dream. Then came his son Jack’s childhood drawing. Finally, Depp developed the image through years of artistic production.
The sculpture brings those moments together. This makes The Bunnyman different from a celebrity portrait or a sculpture created primarily to reference Depp’s film career. Its meaning comes from a recurring personal image.
The Bunnyman also fits naturally within the themes explored in Depp’s wider visual practice. His 2026 exhibition in Shanghai examines memory, identity, and personal symbols and figures that exist outside conventional social roles.
The Shanghai exhibition provides useful context for understanding the sculpture. Read ARTCENTRON’s full feature on Johnny Depp: A Bunch of Stuff Presents Figures of the Fringe for a closer look at his paintings, drawings, manuscripts, and recurring themes.
Johnny Depp The Bunnyman and his visual-art career
Johnny Depp is best known for cinema. His visual-art practice, however, has developed alongside his film career. His art brings together painting, drawing, printmaking, and personal imagery. The Shanghai exhibition further demonstrates the range of his creative interests. It brings together original artworks, sketches, portraits, manuscripts, poems, and personal items.
The Bunnyman provides a useful example of this interdisciplinary approach. An actor creates characters through performance. A visual artist can create characters through images. Depp’s Bunnyman occupies a space between those two worlds. The figure has a theatrical quality. Yet its origin remains deeply personal.
This relationship between identity and artistic persona also appears in the Shanghai exhibition’s Masks & Doubles section. The exhibition explores masks, identity, and the relationship between public and private selves.
Who helped create The Bunnyman sculpture?
The sculpture emerged through a collaboration involving the Sigg Art Foundation, Pantheon Art and Fonderia Artistica Battaglia. Pantheon Art manages Depp’s visual art projects. The organization has also worked with the artist on his painting and printmaking practice. Domus
The Milan-based Fonderia Artistica Battaglia handled the casting. The foundry has worked with numerous artists and specializes in artistic bronze production. Domus The Sigg Art Foundation presented the sculpture at Contemporary Istanbul.
This collaboration shows how a personal artistic idea can move through several stages before becoming a monumental public work. Depp developed the image. Art professionals helped develop the project. A specialist foundry transformed the design into bronze.
What makes Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture significant?
The importance of Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture extends beyond its connection to a famous actor. The work represents a new medium for Depp. It also demonstrates how a recurring personal symbol can develop across different forms.
The Bunnyman began as an image. It became a recurring figure in Depp’s art. It has now become a monumental sculpture. That progression gives the work a clear artistic narrative. The sculpture also raises questions about celebrity and contemporary art. Depp brings a huge public profile to the gallery and art-fair world. Yet The Bunnyman itself asks viewers to consider something more intimate: memory and imagination.
That tension makes the work particularly interesting. It is both a sculpture by a globally recognized actor and an object rooted in a private visual memory. The work can also be considered alongside other contemporary artists who have used monumental sculpture to create new relationships between figures and public space. ARTCENTRON’s coverage of Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue offers another example of a contemporary figurative sculpture commanding a public setting.
Johnny Depp The Bunnyman at Contemporary Istanbul
Contemporary Istanbul presented Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture at Tersane Istanbul from September 22 to 27, 2026. The sculpture formed part of the fair’s special projects.
The presentation has now concluded. However, The Bunnyman remains an important development in Depp’s visual-art career. Its Istanbul debut transformed a familiar two-dimensional character into a physical presence. It also introduced Depp to sculpture on a monumental scale.
The location made the debut even more distinctive. The sculpture appeared against the historic waterfront of Tersane Istanbul rather than within a conventional exhibition hall.
Johnny Depp The Bunnyman and the future of his art
The Bunnyman may prove to be more than a one-off experiment. The character already has a history across Depp’s drawings, paintings and prints. Sculpture now adds another chapter to that history.
The move also suggests that Depp’s visual practice can continue to expand beyond the formats associated with his earlier work. The question is what comes next. Will other recurring figures enter sculpture? Will Depp continue working at monumental scale? Or will The Bunnyman remain a singular experiment?
For now, Johnny Depp The Bunnyman sculpture stands as a significant step in Depp’s development as a visual artist. A childhood image became a recurring artistic symbol. That symbol became a painting, drawing and print subject. In 2026, it became a two-metre white-bronze sculpture. That journey gives The Bunnyman its strongest story: a private memory became a public work of contemporary sculpture.