EAST HARLEM — This must be how he gets his hair to stay like that.
An image of presidential candidate Donald Trump donning hair rollers and the words “Doña Trump: Come Mierda con Rolos” — which roughly translates to “Lady Trump: Full of Sh-- With Rollers” — have sprung up in the Lower East Side and East Harlem.
Tony Peralta, an Inwood-based artist and designer, was inspired to create the image after hearing some of the controversial remarks Trump has made along the campaign trail.
“It’s like every week Trump seems to say something more outrageous,” Peralta, 41, said. “It’s become unbelievable. You can’t make this stuff up.”
“It’s like the Twilight Zone where this billionaire is saying the most racist and bigoted things and he keeps on taking it up another notch. I wanted to combat that.”
Peralta came up with the idea for the image on the heels of an art exhibit that featured famous women with hair rollers — or "con rolos."
After Peralta finished the exhibit he played around with different photos in his apartment and came up with the Trump image. He uploaded it to his Instagram page and it quickly became one his his most-liked images.
Peralta prints the images from Inwood and posted them in the Lower East Side and East Harlem about two weeks ago. He plans to post more in other neighborhoods soon. He has also begun selling shirts to cover the printing costs.
The image is satire but it’s not meant to be pro- or anti-Republican, said Peralta, who is registered as an independent.
More than anything it’s meant to draw attention to Trump’s rhetoric, including his comment that Mexicans are rapists to his proposal to place a ban on Muslims.
“The real motivation honestly is the effect of his words,” Peralta said. “It’s very dangerous, that’s what it is.”
