Do you know who Homunculus Loxodontus is, aka Homunculus, aka Zhdun? How did it come about and what caused it? Not? Then let's get to know him together.

Where did the waiting come from?

This character was born, or rather, was created in the provincial Dutch town of Leiden. Yes, the inhabitants of this particular place had the opportunity to see it first. Its creator was 26-year-old Margaret Van Breevoort, who graduated from the Utrecht School of Art in 2013.

It all started in 2016 with a traditional exhibition of young artists and sculptors, which is held every year during the spring period in the Leiden Bio Science Park. This event lasts 3 months. The girl decided to take part in it and presented her creation, which she called Homunculus Loxodontus.

Outwardly, this creature resembled a huge larva with the head of a sea elephant. The figure, somewhat reminiscent of a pear, expressed humility with the circumstances. His hands were human and were in a folded state on an immense torso. The eyes are so huge, black, black. They made it clear to others that their owner is a very friendly creature. To make it, Margaret spent 75 kg of gypsum. To make the sculpture durable and resistant to moisture, the young artist coated it with a layer of bleached wax, which she mixed with toluene. And to make Zhdun look realistic, the girl opened it with a special colored solution.

How did the Zhdun sculpture appear?

Everyone liked this sculpture very much, but there was no particular excitement around it. In early August, the exhibition ended, and this funny creature received the “People's Choice Award”. Further, the sculpture was sent to the LUMS Children's Medical Center. There she began to decorate the entrance of this institution, meeting and seeing off his little patients.

The management of the hospital, in order to reduce the nervous tension of the children who were treated in it, constantly came up with something interesting. For example, pools with small fish and turtles. Zhdun has become another way to distract kids from negative emotions.

What was the reason for the appearance of this unusual sculpture? And everything is quite simple. The hospital, which was located at the university in Leiden, became something like a grant for Margaret Van Breevoort. The girl did not want to be a debtor and promised to create a medical institution for this interesting sculpture. She thought about her idea for a very long time. And walking once again through the corridors of the hospital, she drew attention to all those sad and tired people who are languishing in a long line to the doctor in anticipation of their diagnosis. The girl thought it was interesting idea- to express emotions, or rather, to show the humility of all these patients, with the help of sculpture. That's how this waiting character came into being.

3 days after the end of the exhibition, Margaret registered her rights as the author of this sculpture. And at the beginning of 2017, she had her first customer. The Belgian businessman wanted to have a personal Zhdun and asked the girl to make an exact copy of him.

This sculpture lurks different feelings and emotions. It can make you smile, or it can move you to tears.

What is a meme and how is it related to Marguerite Van Breevoort's sculpture?

First, let's figure out what the word meme means. So, this is a Greek word, and in translation it means phenomenal, unique, unique, one of a kind. It is also called a unit of cultural information that passes from one person to another. At the same time, it changes and has the ability to adapt to any reality. A meme is widely used to create original photographs or pictures, to which peculiar statements are added. People also use it to make it more interesting to communicate on the Internet. It allows you to briefly, but at the same time very correctly and in an original way, convey your thoughts to the person with whom you are talking.

Zhdun has become another meme in in social networks. By the way, the sculpture of a strange creature got its name on the Internet. But, as it turns out, all this is not just and has a very deep implication. It is worth remembering at least the queues of the times of the Soviet Union. People stood for hours waiting to get what they wanted. And at the same time, their faces had a characteristic expression - depressing sadness and defiance in their eyes. Zhdun very accurately conveys all this. His deep black eyes, full of sadness and sadness, are about to cry from endless expectation. Nowadays, queues are also not uncommon: at the station for tickets, on the street for a bus, in a hospital for a ticket to a doctor for an appointment, etc.

Meme Zhdun in different life situations or how the sculpture of a strange creature became popular

Many users of the World Wide Web have noticed that the potential of this unusual sculpture has not yet been fully disclosed. They began to add funny inscriptions to the image of Zhdun, thus reflecting stereotypes about workers of different professions. The meme is especially popular, in which Zhdun acts as an accountant, which he does not understand at all computer programs, nor in the computer itself. Here he is a symbol of complete bewilderment, misunderstanding, puzzlement and confusion. There are so many interesting memes featuring this amazing creature. Let's look at some of them.

So, Zhdun as a conductor. The main attributes are: a bag hanging over the chest and tickets. The catchphrase is something like “we pass for fare, otherwise I’ll just get up from my seat ...”.

Zhdun in the role of a patient who came to see the doctor and timidly asks: "... what's wrong with me?".

The meme about the mother-in-law has also gained considerable popularity. This marvelous creation of a young artist got used to her role well and, folding her hands on her rather big tummy, so modestly and drawlingly: “Well, son-in-law, I’ll stay with you for a couple of weeks ...”.

Zhdun, with particular success, got used to the role of a watchman, who does not need anything else in life, if only the shift would end quickly.

Also, this giant larva with huge black eyes acted as a user who pressed something somewhere and everything suddenly disappeared somewhere. Or in the role of a glutton who opened the refrigerator door, and then does not remember anything.

Having tried himself in the role of a conductor, an accountant, a user, a patient, etc., having served a lot of all kinds of queues - both to the doctor, and for tickets, and much more, Zhdun moved to the paintings of the classics. He sat down on the bank in the role of Alyonushka, pretended to be Boyar Morozova. Especially successful was the masterpiece, in which Zhdun played the role of Mona Lisa and, thus, it turned out not “Gioconda”, but “Zhdukonda”.

The themes of satire and tragedy are also touched upon. For example, this wonderful larva acts as a Ukrainian with the flag of the European Union, who sits and waits visa-free regime in the airoport. Thus expressed the reaction of the people to the empty promises of politicians. Or the same airport, the same Zhdun, but already in a turban. This is how Donald Trump's ban on the entry of refugees into America is ridiculed.

A meme is also popular, in which a pensioner sits at the screen of his TV and waits for his pension to be raised someday.

Zhdun is credited with the speech clichés of aunts with an incomprehensible age category, who just want to give you their free and, moreover, completely useless advice: “And I treated it with milk thistle.” Or those who are always looking for a way to lose weight, like: “Do you know a way to lose weight quickly?”

But the main calling of this cute creature with a trunk was politics. After all, there is nothing more to be expected from her. And people can only accept and wait for a miracle.

So we met with an interesting creation of a young Dutch artist Margaret Van Breevoort, whom Internet users called Zhdun. And now, if someone asks you who it is and how it appeared, then you can say with great confidence that this cute creature resembles a huge larva with the head of a sea elephant. It is very friendly and, taking part in all kinds of memes, can easily cheer up everyone.

Active Internet users are probably familiar unknown animal called "Zhdun", whose popularity is growing every day, giving rise to more and more new topics for jokes. What is this creature, what is it waiting for and who is its creator? We will try to answer all these questions right now.

So, the original of this internet meme turned out to be a sculpture created by Margriet van Brevoort from Holland in 2016 for a bioscience competition. original name sculptures, translated from Latin, means " insect and elephant mix". Behind this work The creator received the Audience Choice Award.

For those who have never come across her image, it is gray half elephant, half larva without legs and with human hands folded into a castle. From the description it may seem that this is some kind of monster from a horror movie, but do not rush to conclusions.

One has only to look into the eyes of this creature, as it immediately becomes clear that he definitely belongs to the number benevolent characters: a kind, and even slightly frightened look, an insecure pose - all this only arouses sympathy.

Margrit did not want to create anything that would be reminiscent of diseases or medicine in general, so she directed her gaze to the other side of the doctor's office - to the waiting room, where there is a whole line of people waiting for a diagnosis.

As already noted, the sculpture was created in 2016, while it gained popularity on the Internet (more precisely, on social networks) in early 2017. It all started from the moment when the photos and the story of the creation of "Zhdun" were published on Pikabu website, this is what prompted the use of the wild imagination of users of the Russian-speaking part of the Internet.

At first, "Zhdun" reincarnated as various characters only in pictures: he was a conductor, an accountant, and a programmer. He managed to visit a huge pile of locations (the queue to the ATM, to the cashier of the store, and so on), and in each image he was certainly waiting for something.

"Zhdun" became the embodiment of stereotypes about the most different professions, and just types of people and their characters.

Further more! "Zhdun" began to go beyond a simple picture posted on the Internet. It became so popular that stores began to appear Stuffed Toys various sizes, small souvenirs and bean bags in the form of this sculpture.

In Ukraine, "Zhdun" (although there he was given a completely different name - "Pochekun") was even able to attend a meeting of the Rada (State Duma), where he helped fight the delay of deputies.

Now there is even talk that it is necessary to install a statue of this creature in the city of Dnipro. Negotiations are currently underway with the creator of the famous sculpture.

But not only Ukraine showed its love for Zhdun, Russia also distinguished itself. For example, in February last year, A person showed up at the Russian Post, dressed in the costume of this character (he got there, by the way, at the invitation of one of the popular TV channels). They treated Zhdun there with a smile and all good nature, giving him a toy car.

Now you can see this animal in Russia at the highest point of the Rosa Khutor resort and in the city of Chita, where the Zhduna sculpture is installed right near the park of the House of Officers.

It is also currently known that one of the Russian companies bought the rights to use the image"Zhduna" on various products. It is planned not only to produce toys and souvenirs, but also to create a whole cartoon, where the character loved by everyone will be in leading role. Now the Russian-speaking "Zhdun" even has its own blog in some social networks!

Dmitry Travin, Russian economist and journalist, named this character national symbol Russia, revealing in it all the features inherent Russian mentality: despite the fact that he looks rather lethargic, sad and, judging by his physique, lazy, it is inherent in him to maintain an optimistic view of the upcoming changes that he expects.

Journalist Isabelle Mandro admitted that she understands what reason for the wild popularity“Zhduna” in Russia and Ukraine is a consequence of the Soviet past, where you constantly had to wait for something, even an elementary line for food began to line up from early morning.

This, according to Isabelle, causes some sense of kinship users of the Russian-speaking Internet with Zhdun.

Well, we hope that this article helped answer all the questions about the Internet meme popular today under the name "Waiting".

Hello dear readers!

Today we will contact you unusual sculpture created in distant Holland. And if you think that the inhabitants of this country have different views on life or other problems, then you are deeply mistaken. Recently, a sculpture “Waiting” appeared here in a small town, and immediately a bunch of memes of a waiter appeared on the Internet, which everyone loved very much. So let's find out Zhdun today who it is and what it means.

There is no person in the world who has not stood in line at least once. Even in advanced Western Europe this problem exists. And if you expand it on a global scale, then we are all constantly waiting for something: changes for the better, happiness, help. Our life turns into sitting on a bench, waiting for something incomprehensible.

Such thoughts are evoked by the sculpture of the Dutch sculptor and artist Margriet van Breefort. It is very difficult to say exactly Zhdun - what it is and who it represents. Apparently, initially in his place was supposed to be a person waiting for a doctor's appointment. There are sketches showing that the sculpture was conceived as a naked woman on crutches.

Sitting on a bench in anticipation of an exorbitantly fat creature resembles a humanoid elephant with a small thick trunk. According to the artist herself, this is an experiment that failed, he is waiting in the wings to get better. This is a charming lump of flesh: you just want to hug him.

It is difficult to say for sure who Zhdun is and where this idea came from. At the exhibition in the city, where young artists traditionally present their works for 3 months in the spring, the sculpture did not cause a strong stir.

However, already in August, at the end of the event, the elephant-like man won the audience award, for which in May 2016 he was installed in front of the children's clinic in the city of Lenden. Since then, it has become the most photographed attraction of the place.

So far, the creator of Zhduna, according to her, is at the beginning of her journey as a sculptor and artist. Sculpture Zhdun - the second work that she sold.

Next to the humanoid elephant Margrit, in the same row, are two more mysterious creations of the sculptor: a tourist with horns and an incomprehensible creature called "8015": an almost naked woman with a beaver's head.

At the peak of popularity

In Russia, Zhdun became famous thanks to a Russian tourist who was visiting Holland. She photographed the sculpture and posted the photo on her website. Since then, Zhdun began to travel the Internet.

Zhdun Mem (a funny photo with a caption that has a sarcastic overtone) turned out to be extremely tenacious. In what way he just did not appear: politicians, and movie stars, and mother-in-law from jokes, and even appeared on the canvases of great artists. What is the great Zhdukonda worth, in the place of which the hero conveniently perched!

Photo-toads with the participation of the new hero stirred up the network so much that the artist decided to register in VKontakte and create her own page, dedicated to creativity. But the story of Zhdun did not end there.

Zhdun has become a convenient meme for any occasion. Where only they did not manage to insert it. Here are some popular options:

• Glutton. The figure is depicted next to the refrigerator, while the physique of the hero is quite consistent with the task.
• Conductor. Zhdun appears with a bunch of tickets.
• Connoisseur of the transfer “What? Where? When?" - a very good application.

No less harmoniously fit the sculpture into classical portraits and landscapes:

• Painting "Girl with peaches". Zhdun with folded hands sits at the table.
• "Walkers near Lenin", where the main revolutionary turned into a creature with a trunk.
• "Knight at the Crossroads". The hero patiently sat down on a stone.

And there are many such metamorphoses on the Internet. The new hero of our time had many admirers. Probably, they will soon begin to produce Zhdun gift - a sarcastic figurine that can be applied to any occasion.

Some interesting facts...

Several interesting facts are connected with the newly minted image:

• If you are wondering who Zhdun is, where he came from, you should take a closer look at the photo of such an unusual animal as the sea elephant. The shapeless body of the animal and its thick nose formed the basis of the image.
• To make a sculpture, Margrit needed 75 kg of plaster. To prevent moisture and weather from spoiling the creation, Zhdun was covered with wax mixed with toluene. The white nondescript statue was covered with a special paint.
• In 2016, Margrit patented her invention. The very next year, she received an order from a Belgian businessman to make an exact copy of the sculpture.
• In 2017, the Mail without Queues program was launched. A man dressed in a Zhdun costume appeared at the Moscow event. At first, they did not want to let him through, but then the journalists begged the administration to attend the ceremony.
• Amateurs make copies of the sculpture from anything: snow, sand, and even manure.

We are all waiting for something. All of humanity is waiting for change. Zhdun is the absence of a difference between “was” and “became”. It's a satiated constancy when nothing happens.

The hero was perceived by people as a native. Each of us lives like this. Only now did he crawl out and take on flesh and form.

See you soon, friends!

About the history of the famous meme, about its creator, girlfriend and Instagram profile

When I first saw a photo with this incomprehensible creature, I thought it was a frame from some old movie. For some reason, I was sure that in the picture - a living person, dressed in a ridiculous suit. Too realistic were the hands sticking out of the "suit".

Who would have thought that the story of Zhdun, as he was dubbed in the Russian Internet community, is much more interesting.

It turned out that this character is closely connected with medicine. Of course, as a medical copywriter, I could not get past the topic.

So, meet Zhdun, aka Pochekun, aka Homunculus loxodontus.

A Brief History of Waiting

This story began in Holland. Where else, if not in a country where such a large range of means is legalized to achieve the peak of creative inspiration.

In the spring of 2016, the young artist Margriet van Brevoort received a grant from the Leiden University Hospital in the Netherlands to create a sculpture that would be presented at the thematic exhibition "life science".

Initially, the idea was to depict something related to research, procedures. In search of inspiration, Margrit wandered the corridors and observed the patients.

The artist saw many patients in a state of expectation. For example, in an ophthalmological clinic, elderly people with cloudy eyes were sitting and meekly waiting for their diagnosis.

Margrit decided to abandon the "scientific" theme and embody a state of humble expectation in sculpture. This is how the character Homunculus loxodontus appeared, which brought its creator an audience award at the exhibition.

Who invented Zhdun?

A man with a turtle head, a tourist boy with deer antlers, a rat with a seductive female body in a BDSM outfit, slugs with butterfly and dragonfly wings - the hyper-realistic and at the same time fantastic sculptures by Zhdun's creator seem to be alive.

The girl graduated from art school quite recently - in 2013. At first she was engaged in paintings, but then she realized that the plane of the canvas limits her creativity. Working with volume is much more interesting. The artist who created Zhdun managed to sell only two sculptures. The second was Homunculus loxodontus itself.

What kind of animal is this waiting?

The name Homunculus loxodontus is Latin, it can be translated as "elephant man" or "elephant man". Actually, under this name the Dutch know this character. Zhdun is an exclusively Russian term.

The creature Zhdun received its head from a sea elephant. Hands are clearly human, folded into a “lock”, as people usually do in a state of expectation. The body is not entirely clear. It is said to be taken from a larva, but I believe that the artist made it so full and formless in order to better convey the emotions of the character.

In my opinion, the image of Zhdun came out very expressive. Sweet and creepy at the same time, in the eyes - hope and humility. It's hard to get past this. Selfie guaranteed. By the way, the elephant man has no legs.

Where is Zhdun?

The most recent information that I found about the place of residence of this creature dates back to February 2017.

Now Zhdun is in Holland, in the hospital that sponsored his creation - Leiden University Medical Center, in the Netherlands. The hospital has a special room for sculptures, where the elephant man has many neighbors, also with an unusual appearance.

What is Zhdun made of?

I dug up an interview that Zhdun's "mother" gave to Arguments and Facts. There she reveals that Loxodontus is made of epoxy and plastic. If you mix these two materials, you get something like plastic.

And in the photo, where Zhdun has not yet been completed, you can see that inside it is almost empty. So it's not very heavy.

Where did the Zhdun meme come from?

Margriet van Brevoort did not expect that her creation with the head of a sea elephant would bring her so much fame. And I certainly could not think that Homunculus loxodontus would become popular in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In Holland, Zhdun did not make so much noise, and most residents of other European countries did not know about this masterpiece at all.

So how did the Zhdun memes get into Russia?

In an interview with the Russian service of the BBC, the artist spoke about how a woman from Russia visited Leiden in the winter of 2017, took a photo of Zhdun and posted it on the Pikabu website. Users of the popular resource were immediately "hooked" by the unusual appearance of the elephant man, and then it went like a snowball.

Today, the Internet meme Zhdun appears before us in dozens of different images. He is a hero famous paintings, best friend politicians and other memes, soaking out epic phrases like “I pressed something ...”

However, jokes with Zhdun are limited not only to the fruits of photomontage and demotivators. The meme has become so popular that craftsmen have appeared who make their loxodonts from felt, plush, and crochet from yarn. And such souvenirs are bought for good money.

Why Zhdun?

What does Zhdun mean? This name is exclusively Russian. Let me remind you that in the homeland of the character they don’t call it that.

In the vastness of Runet, you can find references to the fact that the waiting people are characters from the book "The Magician emerald city". I don’t remember that there were such people there, but I don’t see the point in rereading a children’s book (there are several volumes) to check.

In any case, the Russian-language name of the elephant man turned out to be very short, capacious and accurate. Zhdun is the one who waits. In his eyes - humility, hope and interest. I look at the pictures, look into the eyes of this creature, and for some reason I feel very sorry for him. Ah here is such I the entire oxytocin.

In Ukraine, Zhdun is also called Pochekun. Whether there is a proper name in Kazakhstan, I don't know.

Why did the meme take root in Russia so much?

Dmitry Travin, a political scientist and professor at the European University in St. Petersburg, said that Zhdun is a symbol of Russia (before that, according to the political scientist, this position occupied by Cheburashka).

The situation is very funny and revealing. Many symbols of Russia have already been invented, many of them are more beautiful, more leafy and give much more reason for pride. But the Audience Choice Award went to an awkward creature with an elephant's head, a flabby larva's body, and dutifully folded arms. You can't look without pity. It seems that Zhdun is telling us: “Well, it’s okay, I’ll endure a little more. Oh, it'll work out."

I think this is what resonated with the long-suffering Russian soul. We are used to standing in lines and waiting for better times.

Instagram Zhduna

Yes, Zhdun also has his own Instagram account. There you will find dozens of funny pictures.

Waiters in Russia

In Russia, their own Zhduny have already appeared. I found mention of two. One was installed in Chelyabinsk, in the photo zone of the Gorki shopping mall. It is made of concrete, and you can easily take a picture with it.

The Yakut master Mikhail Bopposov approached the creation of his Loxodont in a more creative way. He fashioned a sculpture out of dung.

Zhdun in Ukraine

Ukrainians (fraternal people, after all) were imbued with the image of Zhdun no less than Russians. In Ukraine, Loxodont became interested at the state level.

At the end of February 2017, Borislav Bereza, People's Deputy of Ukraine, brought a statuette of Zhdun to the Verkhovna Rada. Pochekun took a place of honor on the parliamentary platform. Bereza stated that the character symbolizes the expectations of the Ukrainian people.

The mayor's office of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro found a Dutch artist, got in touch with her and asked her to make a two-meter copy of the elephant man. If the negotiations are successful, the sculpture will be installed in the city center.

Waiter's girlfriend

Margrit van Brevort, apparently, decided not to stop at the creation of one Zhdun. Perhaps in the future, the Loxodont family will be replenished with new members, because not so long ago the artist posted a sketch with the elephant man's girlfriend on social networks.

Zhdunsha, as she was dubbed in Runet, looks similar, but has female breast and stands on crutches.

That, in fact, is all that I managed to find out about Zhdun. I hope you were interested. I think it's worth explaining a little why I touched on this topic on a blog about copywriting and marketing. It's just that I like to watch the life of such viral ideas and understand how they became viral. It has a lot to do with marketing.

Purposefully creating a meme that will “tear” the Internet community is a titanic task. Planning the fate of viral content is extremely difficult. Sometimes the most unexpected things pop up. Margrit did not set out to conquer the Runet, and was quite surprised by the reaction to her masterpiece.

And I wish for myself and you that not Zhdun, but some Delun-Achiever becomes a symbol of our life.

All the best and good luck! See you again.

And if you need a million dollar ideas from a marketing copywriter, be sure to contact me.

Who is Zhdun and who invented it?

Surely, many of you have seen on the Internet a photo or picture of a gray creature with the head of a sea lion and hands folded on its belly with a funny inscription. At the heart of this phenomenon is the sculpture Homunculus loxodontus (“Humanoid Elephant” from Latin), created by the Dutch artist Margriet van Breefort in 2016. On the Russian Internet, he was nicknamed Zhdun.

Why did Margrit create this strange creature What prompted her to come up with this idea? Here is what the artist herself says:

“I wanted to connect it with patients. Find a way to show that they just have to wait for their fate and hope for the best ... A lot is done in this center genetic research. And my character is kind of a failed experiment, waiting and hoping to get better. He's like a big, cute lump of flesh that you want to hug."

Margrit wanted to create an attractive and cute sculpture, so that it could evoke a smile and a feeling of comfort and warmth.

Margrit created the sculpture as part of a competition held by the Leiden University Hospital. From plastic and epoxy resin, she wanted to embody something not directly related to diseases, medicine. In the end, she decided to portray a patient waiting for a diagnosis in line with a doctor.

Initially, the sculpture was installed in front of the children's hospital. Later sculpture moved to the medical center. Currently, Zhdun is at the entrance to the Leiden University Medical Center.

Initially, as you already understood, Zhdun was not Zhdun - he got such a name when he got into the Russian-language Internet. In 2017, a Russian tourist posted a photo of the sculpture on the Pikabu website. The character very quickly gained popularity and became a well-known meme on the Internet under the name Zhdun.

In Russian-speaking countries, they learned about the sculpture thanks to a photo of a Russian tourist who published it on the Pikabu website. After that, Margrit had an influx of Instagram followers from Russia. Here is what she says about it:

“Suddenly, dozens and dozens of readers from Russia began to appear on my Instagram. I did not understand why, but at first I did not attach much importance to it.

Then there were more readers from Russia than from Holland. It was very funny. I tried to understand what was going on, I searched through Google. I saw messages in Russian about sculpture, tried to translate them.

In Ukraine and Belarus, Zhdun also became popular, receiving the names "Pochekun", "Pachakun".

Some believe that Zhdun's special popularity in Russia is rooted in the difficulty or impossibility of solving social problems due to the dominance of the bureaucracy, as a result of which expectation is an integral part of Russian reality.

In July 2017, the Russian company CD Land bought the rights to use the Zhdun brand. CD Land planned to resell the brand to other companies, however, so far it has only managed to "become famous" for filing lawsuits against companies for using the image and was able to recover 8.6 million rubles from MegaFon.

And, finally, a selection of funny pictures with Zhdun: