Denmark’s Little Mermaids Are Tussling In Court To Be The Only One Standing
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. Photo ID 165083056 © Anna Artamonova | Dreamstime.com
In Copenhagen, the famed 1913 mermaid statue rests serenely, watching the city’s bustle from a distance. She entertains tourists, too, and poses for hundreds of pictures without blinking.
In Asaa, a village in the north of Denmark, another one has sat since 2016, resting her weight on one arm with her tail lolling leisurely off her perch. It begs the question if they are even aware of the other’s existence.
However, its creators and owners most certainly are.
The heirs of Edvard Eriksen, the artist behind the Copenhagen mermaid, have initiated a legal battle against the Asaa mermaid, because it looks too similar. Not just financial compensation will satisfy them: they also want the Asaa mermaid torn down.
“When I first received the email, I laughed,” Mikael Klitgaard, mayor of Broenderslev, the municipality Asaa is located in, tells The New York Times. “I thought it was a joke.”
Although the mermaids differ in appearance, the complaint takes issue with her posture, which apparently has too much similarity.
“How else is she going to sit?” demands Klitgaard. “She’s a mermaid. You can’t put her in a chair.”
The Asaa mermaid was sculpted by Palle Moerk, a local artist and stonemason, before being purchased by residents of the village and gifted to the harbor in celebration of its 140-year anniversary.
He says that “of course” he had seen pictures of the other mermaid, but insists that his creation was of his own. He’d sketched the idea for it late at night, when the inspiration hit.
The Eriksen estate is asking for 37,000 Danish crowns (US$5,838) in financial compensation, but the artist and mayor feel that this is a gesture motivated by greed. It has been pointed out that the estate’s copyright will expire 70 years after the artist’s death, which will be 2029, and this may be a result of trying to get some money while they can.
Asaa is a small village of fewer than 1,200 inhabitants. Besides having a hard time paying large amounts of damages, the residents will also be “very upset” if the statue is destroyed given its backstory of being a gift from the people to their village, says Thomas Nymann, the harbor’s chairman.
[via The New York Times, photo ID 165083056 © Anna Artamonova | Dreamstime.com]
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