An artist has created a homage to cultural and historical figures – by immortalising them as Star Wars characters. Mike Leavitt wanted to “document the pulse of our times” through his sculpture by splicing non-fiction characters with famous faces. He chose the sci-fi trilogy as a basis for what he calls his “pop culture satirical mash-ups”, with many of the pieces hand-carved from wood. The hilarious results include Albert Einstein as R2D2, Michael Jackson as an Ewok and Angelina Jolie in Princess Leia's famous slave girl outfit. Photo: Gandhi as Yoda. (Photo by Mike Leavitt/Rex USA)

A Muslim woman gets caned 23 strokes after being caught in close proximity with her boyfriend in Banda Aceh on October 17, 2016. Out of seven couples caught spending time together outside marriage, 13 were caned while one girl was spared after it was discovered that she was pregnant. Indonesia's Aceh province has gained international infamy for its strict Islamic laws. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

Tippi aged 6 sitting on the back of Linda, a tamed ostrich in South Africa, 1996. Incredible pictures of the real life Mowgli, a girl who spent the first ten years of her life growing up in the African bush, have been released for the first time. The magical images chronicle the life of Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degré, who was brought up with wild animals, just like Rudyard Kipling's hero did in The Jungle Book. (Photo by Sylvie Robert/Barcroft Media)

Arisha, 9, takes instructions from coach Younus Qambrani during an exercise session at the first women's boxing coaching camp in Karachi, Pakistan February 19, 2016. For the past six months about a dozen girls, aged 8 to 17, have gone to the Pak Shine Boxing Club after school to practice their jabs, hooks and upper cuts. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A 15-year-old girl denied a horse from her parents has turned to a cow to fulfil her riding dreams. Teenager Regina Mayer, from southern Germany, is able to ride her cow, Luna. She has even trained her bovine pet to soar over a beer-crate hurdle like a regular show jumper. Why, you may well ask, when most cow-owners are surely content to let the creatures chew and lactate and sit down to indicate the imminent arrival of rain? Well, Regina's parents wouldn't let her have a horse.

Members of the Moranbong Band from North Korea wait inside the lobby of a hotel in central Beijing, China, December 11, 2015. North Korea's premier pop group, the all-girl Moranbong band formed by leader Kim Jong-Un, is electrifying audiences in China in shows aimed at harmonising out-of-tune ties between the traditional allies, reports and the venue said on December 9 – but tickets are not available to the public. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Sabera Bayanne, 20, a student of the Shaolin Wushu club, practices in Kabul, Afghanistan January 29, 2017. On a snowy mountaintop to the west of Kabul, a group of Afghan girls practise the flowing movements of Wushu, a sport developed from ancient Chinese kung fu martial arts, stretching and bending and slashing the air with bright swords. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)