Scottish-based public artist Andy Scott is almost done with a project he has been working on for nearly seven years, The Kelpies. The Kelpiesare a pair of gigantic horse heads that tower over the Forth & Clyde canal in Scotland. The process and content of this structure led Scott to begin referring to it as “equinetecture.”
The project is set to be completed in April 2014, at which point visitors will be able to walk inside the sculptures. A tribute to the Falkirk region of Scotland, these massive structures—each almost 100 feet tall—represent the area in nearly every aspect. Kelpies, according to legend, were mythological beasts that had the strength and power of ten horses. The Kelpies was originally conceptualized as “mystical water-borne equine creatures,” but as time went on, the “ethos and function” of the project shifted, though it never shed its mythological associations completely. The Kelpies represent the long lineage of heavy horses that are an integral part of Scotland's socio-historical past, and are modeled after two Clydesdales from Glasgow City. The horses, which are constructed using structural beams and columns with overlapping sheets of steel, embody the industrial past of Scotland, and the Falkirk area in particular.
“They will stand testament to the achievements of the past, a paean to artisanship and engineering and a declaration of intent for the future of Scotland” —Andy Scott
[via ThisisColossal]
