Britain is reputedly still a nation of animal lovers….(although the title also refers to a BBC children’s programme of the 1970s).
The reason for this post is just to comment on some of the great animal sculptures around Edinburgh. Urban sculpture has been on the increase in Edinburgh over the last few years, but most of the recent examples have been animals, presumably because they are less controversial? Easier to understand?
The public certainly seemed to understand when it came to last year’s Cow Parade. A similar set-up has happened in other cities around the world with model cows.
In this case, various organisations and businesses sponsored the making and decorating of over 40 fibre-glass cows, most full-size, that were then put in various public sites around the city. (There were also a few mini ones, suspended between pillars of the Scottish Gallery of Art on Princes Street).
The cows were wonderfully decorated, many done by school children, or youth groups, some by individual artists. Many were given cow-themed titles, with plenty of puns. Later in the year, people (or again more likely, organisation) could vote to buy a cow at auction, with proceeds going to VetAid.
I’m not sure who has ended up keeping a cow – except that the office I work in overlooks a certain pizza restaurant, and they have one of these cows on the roof of their building. I think you could only tell from a higher building, as it can’t be seen from the front.
At least one person I met over the summer had made a school holidays outing out of touring the city and taking pictures of themselves/their kids next to as many cows as possible.
The other ones I see regularly: two giraffes outside the Omni entertainment complex at the top of Leith Walk. I recently learned from a friend that these are made out of car scrap metal. There are more traditional sculptures in sandstone in Holyrood Park, the area next to Holyrood Palace and which includes the hills Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags. A beautiful sandstone lion is very close to the palace – and simultaneously to the front entrance of the Scottish Parliament.
My final plug is for a statue that has been around for longer. A collection of small plump pigeons are permanently in place on a pavement near the top of Leith Walk, looking rather fine in copper. As they remain for longer, they’ve already aged to a gentle green. Subtle, but perhaps the most effective – one of the more likely visitors to an Edinburgh pavement.
If anyone has plans for a seagull sculpture along similar lines, let me know. The area around our home would be no bad place for it…