Stockholm, Sweden

Rag and Bone

This homeless brass fox tugs at your heartstrings from the foot of a Stockholm bridge.

Huddled at the foot of a Stockholm bridge is a sad little figure, barely visible under a pile of rumpled up blankets, silently pleading for your sympathy. This statue, called “Rag and Bone,” is somehow even sadder for having a fox face.

Since 2008 the helpless little fox has been waiting on the street, asking passersby to give spare a thought for the homeless, and maybe some change as well. The artwork was created by British sculptor Laura Ford, and later purchased by the city of Stockholm. At first glance, the squat beastly hobo looks like an almost realistic pile of old blankets, but further inspection reveals the sad little fox face. The figure has nothing in the world but a single boot and its pile of ratty blankets.

The statue was placed near the corner of Drottninggatan and Strömgatan, in the heart of the city where the tourists and the most wealthy can see it. Its placement was the result of a public vote that wanted the little symbol of poverty to stand out to those who are in the most need of being reminded.

Well liked by both Swedes and tourists, the rag and bone fox is often surrounded by pocket change that is left at its feet. It may not be the happiest statue in the world, but even though it might make you give some time to an uncomfortable subject, it remains undeniably a little cute.