Pop Art: Bieber And Gomez Go Heavy Metal

A life-size bronze sculpture of teen pop couple Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez almost naked is being created in the US based on Adam and Eve.

The work by controversial Connecticut artist Daniel Edwards will show the young stars standing side by side, with a maple leaf to cover Bieber's private parts.

Gomez's pelvic area will be shielded by a Texas Lone Star.

At the base of the 6ft-high sculpture, Edwards plans to add a Canadian goose mounted on a Texas armadillo.

Edwards said: "Well they are both pretty much nude, except that their pelvic region is covered. He's covered with a maple leaf. She's covered with the Texas Lone Star.

"And so, basically, one of the tricks to art is to kind of refer to something historical, and I picked Adam and Eve as kind of my motif."

Some people have been critical of the almost-naked creation as Bieber is still only 17. His girlfriend is 19.

Because of the concerns about child pornography, the artist said he will formally unveil the entire work next year when Bieber becomes an adult.

Edwards said he was a "little surprised" by the reaction he has received.

He said: "That's certainly what the statement is about is how these teenagers grow up too fast in front of the media.

"So it is about that, but I guess we've seen it so often that I didn't expect the public to react the way they have.

"And I think the fact that he's still 17, that was where a lot of the outrage seemed to be."

Edwards is no stranger to provocative celebrity art.

His past sculptures include a naked Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug, Angelina Jolie breast-feeding her twins and a dead Paris Hilton wearing a tiara and clutching a mobile phone.