World’s largest horse sculptures unveiled
November 27 2013
The £5m sculpture is the centrepiece of a £43m master plan for 350 hectares of land between Falkirk and Grangemouth; which is intended to transform the area into a major tourism destination and, at 600 tonnes and 30m tall, the artwork is now a prominent feature from the M9 motorway.
Sculptor Andy Scott, who designed the piece in homage to the horses which once pulled barges along the neighbouring Forth & Clyde canal, commented: “I have always been fascinated with horses and the heavy horse was at one time the driving force in industry until after the Industrial revolution. There is an ancient and almost primal link between man and horse and The Kelpies you see here today are an outstanding exemplar of art and engineering coming together to deliver something really special for the people of Falkirk and Scotland.”
Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Falkirk Council’s spokesperson for culture, leisure and tourism, added: “This has been a dramatic year for the overall project, with the Helix Park and its lagoon being unveiled to the public. Contractors have also moulded great new access routes and paths to ensure the site is easily accessible from neighbouring communities.”
Built by SH Structures the Kelpies will be officially opened to the public by summer 2014.
Photography by bermrunner
3 Comments
#2 Posted by The Bairn on 28 Nov 2013 at 14:36 PM
Scandalous waste of public money!!
£25 million does not buy much theses days does it? Will they airbrush out the original 'public art' electricity pylons from the tourist brochures? Would have been more cost effective to paint them gold leaf...
£25 million does not buy much theses days does it? Will they airbrush out the original 'public art' electricity pylons from the tourist brochures? Would have been more cost effective to paint them gold leaf...
#3 Posted by The Bairn on 28 Nov 2013 at 23:39 PM
Missed a trick for maximum publicity I reckon.
They should have invited Willie Carson and AP McCoy on to Question Time tonight...
They should have invited Willie Carson and AP McCoy on to Question Time tonight...
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Public art can fail to impress even on a large scale (for example the awful Stoneymollan Roundabout at Balloch) but this is just beautiful. Well done to all.