According to The Seattle Times, Chris Cornell‘s widow, Vicky Cornell, has hired the artist and sculptor Wayne Toth to create a statue of the SOUNDGARDEN frontman to be placed somewhere in Seattle, where the singer was born and nurtured his music career.
“He has already given me a design and the children and I love it,” Vicky said of Toth, who created the statue of Johnny Ramone that stands at his grave at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, where Chris Cornell is buried.
Vicky said that it will take Toth about seven months to create to create the statue, for which Seattle attorney and family friend Mark Johnson is working with the city to find a location.
“He is Seattle’s son,” she said, “and we will be bringing him home and honoring him, I hope, with all of you, your love and support.”
Cornell was pronounced dead on May 18 after being found unresponsive in his Detroit hotel room the previous night. SOUNDGARDEN had played a show earlier that evening.
The 52-year-old had sedatives and an anxiety drug in his system on the night he died by hanging himself. According to a completed toxicology report released by Michigan’s Wayne County Medical Examiner, the drugs didn’t contribute to the cause of death.
In addition to SOUNDGARDEN, Cornell sang with AUDIOSLAVE and TEMPLE OF THE DOG, while also recording four solo studio albums and one live set on his own.
