“If you come from Europe or any other part of the United Kingdom by ship, the first thing you will see approaching the shore are two tremendous horses, welcoming you to Scotland,” Andy Scott, the sculptor who designed the Kelpies says.
 

These Kelpies sculptures were named after the mythical water spirits living in the Scottish rivers and mountain lakes. According to legend the Kelpies can transfer into different animals and in humans, but most often they take a black horse guise, which is ten times stronger than an ordinary horse.
 

The Kelpies sculptures are the height of a ten-storey building and were made to remind us of the importance of horses in the history of Scotland. They rise above the Firth of Clyde channel in Falkirk, the Scottish town.
 

During the development stage, Andy Scott sketched two real cart-horses of the Clydesdale breed brought to his studio from Glasgow. According to the sculptor, these horses can be a symbol of the painful transformation of Glasgow as a place, famous mainly with its heavy and manufacturing industries, transferred into a city, which is now well known by its garden festivals, holiday fairs and developed infrastructure. “Previously Glasgow could be compared to a workhorse, but now it is just a sleek racing stallion,” Scott says, using a metaphor.
 

The Kelpies sculptures’ total weight reaches 400 tons. They are built of metal structures, covered with stainless steel, its texture slightly resembles medieval armour. One of the sculptures laughs, tensely curving its long neck, the second one calmly looks ahead with the half-closed eyelids.
 

After the seven years of construction, the Kelpies sculptures should become a visually stunning centrepiece for Helix Park.
 

The construction is almost finished: the world will see tremendous heads of the Kelpies horses

Last update: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 3:23:54 PM