This little sculpture is called Zinneke-Pis. You probably already know the famous brother, Manneken-Pis, and maybe even the sister, Jeanneke-Pis. While the surname needs no explanation, the first part of our furry friend's name deserves a little more attention. Do you know what a Zinneke is in Brussels? The name most often refers to the concept of a mongrel dog, and by extension to the notion of a person who lives in Brussels but was not born there - the opposite of the ketje, the native, the local figure. The etymology takes us back to the Senne - Zinne -, the river in Brussels in which stray and mongrel dogs were drowned in the 16th century... dogs that had been adopted a few years earlier as a means of combating the proliferation of rats! The sculpture (1999) was created by Tom Frantzen, a Brussels artist who uses zwanze aplenty, that typically Brussels sense of humour, both farcical and self-deprecating. Frantzen has created several works in Brussels public spaces, including Madame Chapeau and the Vaartkapoen.
Zinneke-Pis
Location: Kartuizersstraat, 35, 1000 Brussels