The fiberglass-reinforced-plastic-composed piece, as Huang describes it, presents Bryant as a stand-in for Achilles the Greek "demigod" himself, locked in battle with the creature whose aspect he has taken on as his career has moved forward. Will the nearly 36-year-old "Black Mamba," now coming back from a second severe leg injury, fail to meet the challenge of returning to form and leading an apparently underwhelming Lakers squad back to the postseason? Or will he come back from his time away rejuvenated and restored, with "the Mamba snake just healing [his] wound [with its] venom," as Huang writes? That much, of course, remains to be seen, but what's indisputable is that Huang has succeeded in at least one area where his Guangzhou predecessors failed — the integration of the famed Kobe Death Stare and signature jaw jut into the piece: We already know Kobe likes the idea of having one of his more infamous expressions carved into his countenance for prosperity. Now we'll just need to see if the artists responsible for his eventual statue outside of Staples Center take inspiration not only from Huang's facial work, but from the "let's make him a naked Greek hero fighting with a snake" stuff, too. While we wait to find out, those of you in the greater Taipei metropolitan area can check out the sculpture and a slew of other NBA-related artwork at the Conscious 3 Basketball Art Exhibition, running through Aug. 24.