New "HAN" Sculpture in Helsingør, Denmark

Denmark has its national icon — “The Little Mermaid” — but she now also has a male counterpart. On Saturday, June 2, 2012, “HAN” (the Danish word for “He”) was unveiled in Helsingør. “Han” is the first permanent outdoor sculpture in Denmark by the acclaimed artists Elmgreen and Dragset. The two artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset have gained a great following in recent years, including at the Venice Biennale 2009 with their work “The Collectors” and their figure “Powerless Structures, Fig. 101” on Trafalgar Square in London, which has had such success that the work is commonly known now as “The Rocking Horse Boy”. Denmark’s Cultural Minister Uffe Elbæk, Helsingør Kommune’s Mayor Johannes Hecht-Nielsen and the Cultural Board President Malene Carmel had the honor of unveiling the shining, new sculpture. The sculpture is placed in the harbor in Helsingør and is right in the middle of the city’s new cultural area that includes the culture house Kulturværftet, Kronborg Castle and the upcoming M/S Seamen’s Museum (www.mfs.dk), which will open in 2013 in the old Helsingør dockyard between Kronborg Castle (www.kronborg.dk) and Kulturværftet (www.kulturvaerftet.dk). Read more about the new modern gathering places in Helsingør, Denmark at http://www.helsingorkommune.dk