Controversial sculptor unveils latest work: Hilton as corpse

The provocative artist who created a sexy bust of Hillary Clinton and a nude sculpture of pop star Britney Spears giving birth has set his sights on another celebrity: Paris Hilton.

The opening reception for Paris Hilton Autopsy, the newest work from sculptor Daniel Edwards, is scheduled for Capla Kesting Fine Arts in New York on Friday.

The infamous hotel heiress and her recent brushes with the law reportedly inspired the artist's new piece.

The sculpture depicts Hilton as a nude cadaver wearing a tiara, lying on her back with her legs splayed. The figure clutches a cellphone in one hand and a champagnecoupe in the other.

A small sculpture of Hilton's chihuahua, also wearing a tiara, is depicted alongside.

Visitors to the Brooklyn gallerywill also be able to touch organs from an opening in the sculpture's abdomen.

The work, scheduled to remain on display until May 30,is an interactive public service announcement aimed at teens to warn them about driving while under the influence of alcohol, Edwards said.

"Around this time of year, I think of a couple of friends I lost in high school because of drinking and driving," a white-clad Edwards told reporters at a media preview of the sculpture on Wednesday.

The exhibit will include supporting material from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and counters "the disturbingly glamourized trend of Hollywood's 'girls gone wild,'" gallery director David Kesting said in a statement.

The gallery, which has previously exhibited Edwards's sculptures, is also holding a contest in which teens are invited to compose a 300-word obituary for Hilton, based on Edwards's sculpture.

On Friday, Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating her probation in relation to her September 2006 alcohol-related reckless driving conviction. This week, lawyers for Hilton began working on an appeal.

The controversial Edwards is known for raising ire and eyebrows with his detailed, life-sized celebrity-inspired creations, including the Spears work (titled Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston) and the cleavage-baring Clinton bust (which the artist dubbed The Presidential Bust of Hillary Rodham Clinton: The First Woman President of the United States of America).

He also made headlines for a sculpture depicting the decapitated head of baseball great Ted Williams — whose body was put into cryonic suspension after his death in 2002 —and a bronze piece that purportedly displayed the first bowel movement of Tom Cruise's infant daughter, Suri.