“Have you noticed it?” That’s what I ask everyone when we approach Lilla elefanten drömmer. If you’ve walked along Katarina Bangata in Södermalm you’ve probably passed it. This small sculpture often goes unnoticed. It is a sad thing about public art.
Lilla elefanten drömmer is a sculpture by Torsten Renqvist. It has stood on Greta Garbos torg in Södermalm since 1978. The artwork features three elephants. One of them is slightly pink. I think that one is dreaming.
The elephants were placed here in 1975. In 1992, the city decided to name the place after Greta Garbo. Since 2005, there has also been a memorial to Greta Garbo by Thomas Qvarsebo on the square. So we have this square named after one of the world’s greatest actresses. There is a memorial to her. On the opposite side of the square stand three small elephants.
Tourists might visit the square to see the Greta Garbo memorial. They might also want to see the school where she went as a child. I don’t think many people come specifically to see the elephant sculpture. But Greta Garbo was very shy. Now there is a square named after her outside her old school. There is also an artwork as a memory of her. Perhaps the little elephant dreaming is more like she was. The elephant is demure standing on the outside and getting unnoticed. Garbo would have liked to be unnoticed.
The sculpture’s presence speaks to our priorities. The elephants were placed here before the location became a public square. The sculpture wasn’t removed. But it got a bit driven over by the memorial to Garbo. We are proud of our celebrities. I am not saying that Garbo doesn’t deserve to be honored. But we like to show off famous people from our country more than art.
There is this square named after a movie star. There is a memorial to her on the square. And there is also this very small sculpture. It pictures three elephants. One of them is dreaming. Lilla elefanten drömmer is so quiet and demure. It often goes unnoticed. But it really says more about the people who live in Stockholm than the square does. Isn’t that what we are? When you live in a big city it is hard to get noticed. We are all quiet and small in the crowd. And we are all dreaming about something. Just like the little elephant slightly in pink. Take a moment to appreciate Lilla elefanten drömmer. It is a reminder to find beauty in the unnoticed corners of life.