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Portrait of a sculptor |
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HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN |
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Cheerful funeral In August 2011 a sad conclusion was inevitable: The Storyteller’s Fountain had to be suspended. The money had evaporated. And more seriously, the support of the municipality had faded away. The civil servants had proposed four sites all of which were far off the beaten track, in fact a showcase of mockery and obstruction Anyway, Jens Galschiot decided to defy the dire situation. He invited politicians and citizens to a spectacular and cheerful funeral. |
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On 8th October the procession started at the Town Hall sq. where a big sculpture of Hans Christian Andersen (planned to be a part of The Storyteller’s Fountain) had been displayed for 6 years. The sculpture was loaded on a carriage that followed by thousands of people proceeded to the Odense harbour where it was sunk into the water. |
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Annual tradition? The artist imagines that an annual tradition can develop. He says: I will exhume the sculpture again in order to take part in a resurrection ceremony on Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday 2nd April 2012. Then we can drive him to the city centre where he can gaze upon the city for a week or so, and then he will be buried once again". |
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Hans Christian Andersen is back in town Many people are missing the poignant sculpture on the Town Hall sq. So Galschiot has filled the gap with the sculpture The Drowned Storyteller, that will be a part of a sculpture group to be exhibited at the prestigious Randers Art Museum. April 2012. |