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Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- General
- Scottish Sun
‘Ugly & pornographic' 14-tonne mermaid statue to be torn down in Denmark in row over her ‘vulgar' boobs
The statue has been blasted for its poor representation of a female body THE LITTLE MERMAI-DD 'Ugly & pornographic' 14-tonne mermaid statue to be torn down in Denmark in row over her 'vulgar' boobs Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A 14-TONNE statue dubbed "ugly and pornographic" will be torn down in Denmark after a major row over her "vulgar" boobs. The enormous stone figure - known as the Big Mermaid - will be removed from Copenhagen's landmark sea fortification, Dragør Fort, after causing a massive stir. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 A row has broken out in Denmark over a mermaid statue Credit: The Danish Palaces and Culture Agency stated the statue does not "fit into the cultural-historical environment" of the 1910 landmark. This comes as dozens of locals blasted the sculpture's design, with one art critic calling the mermaid "ugly and pornographic". While, one journalist fumed the figure was a product of a "man's hot dream". She said: 'Erecting a statue of a man's hot dream of what a woman should look like is unlikely to promote many women's acceptance of their own bodies.' She added: 'It's truly uplifting that many find the statue vulgar, unpoetic, and undesirable, because we're suffocating in overbearing bodies in public space.' The artist behind the statue, Peter Bech, hit back at criticism calling the breasts "proportional" to the size of the woman. He said many visitors told him they loved the sculpture so he is trying to find a way of keeping it in the town. Others fumed the scrutiny she was receiving was much the same as body shaming. The statue was installed in 2006 at Langelinie Pier in Copenhagen, near the existing Little Mermaid statue but was relocated some years later after locals raged it was "fake and vulgar". Dragør municipality has reportedly declined Peter's offer of donating the mermaid as a gift, reports the Guardian. Shock moment tourist jumps railing and plunges 18ft into Terracotta Army pit before smashing two priceless statues Landmark boss Helle Barth said: "it's just hard to fit in. It takes up a lot of space.' Elsewhere in the UK, a public sculpture of a snail was likened to a "giant poo emoji" and branded a huge waste of public money. The Periwinkle Shelter sculpture, which cost £6k and was woven from willow branches, is designed to imitate the tiny sea snail. It was unveiled at Earnley Viewpoint at Medmerry Nature Reserve, near Chichester. But visitors say the 4.5 metre sculpture resembles a "giant poo emoji" and have slammed it as a waste of taxpayers' money. Solly Everett said: "The idea of marking the rich coastal heritage of the south coast with a giant poo emoji is hilarious. "But given the amount of raw sewage in the sea these day perhaps it is entirely appropriate.
Euronews
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Denmark to axe Copenhagen's 'ugly and pornographic' mermaid statue
Plans to remove a statue of a mermaid in Denmark from a historical landmark have sparked debate, with the busty sculpture criticised as "ugly and pornographic". The granite 14-tonne Den Store Havfrue (the Big Mermaid) is to be removed from Dragør Fort, part of Copenhagen's old sea fortifications, according to local media. The Danish Palaces and Culture Agency reportedly made the decision because the statue does not "fit into the cultural-historical environment" of the 1910 landmark. Mathias Kryger, art critic for the Danish paper Politiken, told local media that the statue was "ugly and pornographic". Writing in the newspaper Berlingske, another journalist, Sørine Gotfredsen, said many people found the statue "vulgar, unpoetic and undesirable". However, the man who commissioned the statue, Peter Bech, said it was a boon for the Dragør area and attracted visitors. He described the criticism as "pure nonsense". "The mermaid has completely normal proportions in relation to her size. Of course the breasts are big on a big woman," Bech told Danish broadcaster TV 2 Kosmopol. Municipal politician Paw Karslund echoed that view. "I simply think the argument that the statue should be ugly and pornographic is too primitive," he told the outlet last week. "We shouldn't be so afraid of a pair of breasts." Bech has said he wants to find a way to keep the statue in the area, while Karslund has called for it to be moved to a permanent fixture in the nearby Tårnby Strandpark. The Big Mermaid was first installed at Langelinie Pier in Copenhagen, near the Little Mermaid, in 2006. But it was removed in 2018 and relocated to Dragør — some 15 kilometres south of the Danish capital — reportedly after criticism from local residents. The famed statue of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, one of Copenhagen's biggest tourist attractions, has repeatedly been vandalised in recent years. The mermaid has been blown off her perch, covered in paint and political slogans, and even beheaded. In 2023, the installation of a mermaid sculpture called Il Mare (The Sea) in the small fishing town of Monopoli in Italy's Puglia region drew criticism for being "too provocative".
