‘The Devil is Loose’ in Middelfart, Denmark
In 2012, Middelfart, Denmark, welcomed a sculpture by Steffan Herrik titled Fanden er løs, meaning "The Devil is Loose." This bronze artwork, located in a spot the artist deems unattractive, is meant to symbolize the chaotic spirit of the early 2000s. The figure is not a typical devil but a gaunt chimera, standing nearly five feet tall. It features a beaked, single-eyed head, antlers, and a single wing. The sculpture rests on a large egg from which two snakes emerge, one mimicking a tongue with a smaller snake. The title references a Danish saying, "The devil is loose in Salmon Street," stemming from an 1826 incident blamed on the devil. This cultural reference is fitting within the Danish context. The town's name, Middelfart, originates from old Danish words for "middle" and "crossing" or "passage." This refers to its location at the narrowest part of the Little Belt strait. Any association with sulfur, a smell often linked to the demonic, is purely coincidental but perhaps thematically appropriate.
