Talks are underway to send Sven-Goran Erkisson’s memorial sculpture on a European tour. The Swedish artist, who has created the bronze tribute to the late football manager, wants as many fans as possible to see it.
Hanna Beling said: “I would love to see it on display in England and also Italy because he was very much loved there too.” The life size statue of Sven – who died from cancer in the summer aged 76 – is due to be unveiled in his home city of Torsby in mid-December. It will show the former England boss sitting on a manager’s bench with his hand raised in the air as though he is waving to a player.
The 80 kilo sculpture is hollow and will have a special element inside to heat the body so it is warm to the touch. Hanna was approached back in April by dignitaries in Torsby about creating this tribute to Sven. She was chosen after finding fame in Sweden for her sculptures of Pippi Longstocking writer Astrid Lindgren and actor Bosse Ostlin as well as a host of animals including bears, rabbits, cats and squirrels.
After agreeing to the special commission, she flew from Stockholm to Sven’s home in June – only weeks before he passed away - to meet the man himself and take measurements for the statue. She revealed: “We only had one meeting. When I saw him in June, he was in good shape. He was so busy with the Amazon documentary team there and so I’d talk to him for about an hour in between and then he’d be back filming.
“We had lunch and there were lots of people there but I sat next to him so I could study his face. And at one point, I went to get my tape measure because I saw new things all the time that I wanted to measure. I measured his head, hands, legs, shoulders and also his nose and his lips. Then I looked at documentaries of when he was in Italy with Lazio.
“The reason for this is because I made the sculpture of him when he was 45-50 years old. That was a very happy period in his life. The middle age. It was a good age and he thought so too. So I wanted to portray that age when he was in Italy. I didn’t take any photos of him in June as, of course, he looked older. He was in very good spirits. He was excited but humble about the project. But he thought it was funny having a sculpture done. And I made him laugh because I asked for an autograph for my boyfriend and he thought that was funny.”
Sven handed Hanna one of his suits and a pair of shoes to use in her wax moulds to make the sculpture as authentic as possible. And on the pocket of his jacket, instead of a football badge, there will be an emblem for Torsby – the place he loved and where he is now laid to rest.
Throughout the summer, she sent him photos of how she was progressing and in the days before he died on August 26, he managed to see pictures of how the statue would look before it was cast in bronze. Secrecy surrounds what it looks like. No photos have been issued of the tribute in advance. And only a handful of people will be allowed to view it before its unveiling.
Hanna explained: “His children and I agreed not to show it until it is finished and then we unveil it in Torsby. Everyone in the foundry was told that they could not take photos of the pieces when it was cast in bronze. We want to keep it a secret.” However once it is unveiled Hanna is in talks with Torsby officials to hatch a plan for the statue to go on a Euro-tour. She said: “I want to show the sculpture to England and Italy too. I would love to see it there because he was very much loved there too.
“I have spoken to the people in Torsby who commissioned this to see if the sculpture could go on tour for a while and then come back to Sweden and it is being discussed. Fans can sit next to Svennis and the statue will be warm so they can put their hand on his shoulder. It was a combined idea that he should be waving. It gives the sculpture some motion.
“There were no other ideas for this. It was always ‘Svennis on the bench’. He liked that idea. I am excited about the unveiling. I was nervous about his face because it is so important for me to make sure it looks like Svennis but now I’m calmer. I feel very honoured to have been asked to do this.”
Asked what she thought Sven would make of it all, she beamed: “I think he would have liked it. I think it looks very much like him. I did my best."
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