Chris Cornell Memorial Statue Unveiled in Seattle

A new life-sized bronze statue memorializing Chris Cornell has been unveiled in his Seattle hometown. The statue, created by artist Nick Marra, is now on display at the city’s Museum of Pop Culture.

Vicky Cornell, wife of the late Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog frontman, donated the work, which shows the singer holding an electric guitar and waving. The unveiling ceremony happened Sunday evening, and was attended by Cornell’s Soundgarden bandmates Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, and Matt Cameron.

“This statue is a commemoration, a focal point to keep Chris’s memory alive,” Vicky Cornell said at the ceremony. “In us, in Seattle, and in the world.”

Cornell died by suicide in May of last year. Vicky Cornell has said that he relapsed into drug use in the last year of his life following a decade of sobriety. Last month, the Cornell estate announced a new career-spanning box set containing reissues of his work with all of his bands, which also includes a previously unreleased single called “When Bad Does Good.” Cornell’s voice also recently appeared on a tribute album to Johnny Cash, for which he recorded a musical setting of a poem by the country legend entitled “You Never Knew My Mind.”