Nikkikapow84 - Shine Bright

The Kelpies.

Each head is formed from more than 13,000 individual steel pieces and were completed in October 2013. 

A Kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore, possessing the strength and endurance of 10 horses; a quality that is analogous with the transformational change and endurance of Scotland’s inland waterways.Built of structural steel with a stainless steel cladding, The Kelpies weigh 300 tonnes each. While construction began in June 2013 and was complete by October 2013, the process of fabricating the steel was several years in the making.

During the summer of 2013, passers-by could watch the two huge horse heads coming together next to the busy M9 motorway. Since the Helix Park opening in April 2014, the Kelpies have rapidly becoming one of Scotland’s most photographed attractions. The engineering excellence has also been recognized with various awards.

The Glaswegian artist Andy Scott revealed they started out  as a drawing on his Dutch girlfriend’s kitchen table in Amsterdam. He said at the time they were completed  “"I’m hoping that these can do that and give Scotland something the whole population can be proud of.“

Despite it winning lottery cash in November 2007, it was still threatened by the financial crash the following year and Scott admitted to being “stung” by a article in the Scottish Sun at the time condemning the sculpture project as a “zany artwork” that was a waste of the public’s cash.  I have heard people in Falkirk, where I live also saying they are a waste of money, my reply is always the same, are we going to be the generation that does not produce a lasting legacy of public art for future Scots, and indeed people from around the world to enjoy. Some say it only brings people into this area of Falkirk and not the town itself, which I must admit is largely true, but I do try to encourage people to come and see the great history the town has to offer.

Each head took 75 days to construct as summer 2013 gave way to autumn and by spring 2014, the whole site was ready to welcome visitors. Scott can now take satisfaction in his giant sculptures but he has one last ambition for them. 

He says: “I used to joke that my job would be done when these are the lair of a villain in a James Bond movie. Who knows what the future holds?”

"the time will pass anyways" has truly rocked me to my core since reading it and changed my life.