Overview
- The Danish Agency for Palaces and Culture ruled in March that the 4-meter statue does not fit Dragør Fort’s cultural-historical environment and must be removed.
- Dragør municipality declined Bech’s offer to gift the sculpture, citing that its 14-ton weight and bulk make it impractical to accommodate.
- Bech created the granite mermaid in 2006 as a larger counterpart to Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid and insists its exaggerated proportions are natural for a swimming figure.
- Art critic Mathias Kryger and journalist Sørine Gotfredsen have described the work as vulgar and overly sexualized, arguing it projects a male-oriented fantasy.
- Local politician Paw Karslund is lobbying for the statue’s relocation to neighboring Tårnby, where officials have yet to decide on its acceptance.