While ongoing political clouds swirl around the Labour Party and the trades unions in Falkirk, a ray of artistic sunshine has broken through the gloom in the form of two huge sculptures of horses’ heads, called “The Kelpies” after mythological animals having the strength of 10 horses. These are located in”The Helix“, a community regeneration and enterprise project, a green gateway to the communities of Falkirk and Grangemouth and connecting into the Forth and Clyde Canal, where not far away is the magnificent piece of engineering, the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s first rotating canal boat lift.

The sculptures are the creation of artist Andy Scott, working with Atkins on the engineering,  and construction was completed earlier this month.  Scott deliberately chosen to make the sculptures from steel, reflecting Scotland’s former industrial prowess and has built them on an architectural scale, with the structure being exposed and seen through the laser-cut steel plates of the equine skin.  The structures will be illuminated at night and will be seen by drivers on the adjacent motorway.

“Andy Scott’s vision for The Kelpies follows the lineage of the heavy horse of industry and economy, pulling the wagons and ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the structural layout of the area. Retaining The Kelpies as the title for these equine monuments, Andy sought to represent the transformational and sustainably enduring qualities The Helix stands for through the majesty of The Kelpies”.

For more information on the engineering behind the tallest equine statues in the world read here….