A leading Finnish artist who moved to Orkney two years ago has secured an award of £50,000 from Reactive Scotland. Stronsay based, Styr Pendoul, is mutely joyous at the commission.
Styr is mainly known as a sculptor. His most famous work is an interpretation of his emotions formed from his frozen tears. It is the focal point in the central square of Rovaniemi and has become an iconic symbol of the town.
The commission from Reactive Scotland is to create sculptures across the Orkney landscape which will be highly visible. The impact will be stunning. The Orkney News succeeded in gaining an interview with the illusive Styr.
Styr Pendoul oversees work
Asked about his work Styr said:
” With these sculptures I am making a statement about the darkness of times in the circle of life.“
The sculptures will consist of towers of balancing car tyres although some of the larger ones will use tractor and lorry tyres. Styr has not ruled out painting some of them to represent the rainbow of his thought shower when designing them.
A Shower of Love (S.Pendoul)
Community councillor, Mrs Flett McGinty, said:
” The tyre towers will make a beautiful addition to the Orkney landscape and a ‘must see’ for the tourists”
Local haulier, Cygnet Swanson, has his doubts:
” Whit a waste of money” and he added ” I know tyres. Tyres are my life. This lot would be better visiting my yard. I’ve got mounds of them”
Undaunted Styr has already created one of his sculptures at Rackwick, Hoy .
The completed sculpture on Hoy
It is hoped it will soon become as famous as the Old Man himself.
Reporter: Fergus Graemsay
Ancient Tyre Structure Found on Orkney Beach
Photo by Bernie Bell
Categories: Uncategorized
Ahoy phallic symbol aHoy????
Styr’s art is not for him to comment on. It is what you perceive it to be.
I think someone, somewhere is taking the piss…………N’er mind, I’m going to add this anyway………………….
Years ago, before we moved here, when we were on holiday, we found a series of structures at Skaill Bay, which some folk had built to commemorate what’s now referred to as ‘9/11’. I should imagine they were built by American visitors – feeling it was a good place to do that. There were circles of stone, with the date of the ………event, scratched on them, and a few stone towers, maybe reflecting the Two Towers which were destroyed? So, we took pictures of them.
Some years later a friend of mine was going through a hard time, and I made her a card, with one of the stone tower pictures, on it. The idea being, to take what she was dealing with, one level at a time, one layer at a time, and build, on that.
This is the kind of thing which is so great about humans. Some visitors make a memorial to something which has happened in their homeland, I send a picture, with an idea, built on the structure, to some one, to, hopefully, give them support.. I know, I know, lots of folk build stone towers on the beaches here – the stones just ask for it, ask to be built! But, still, I see a connection, and I likes the connection. You can never have too many stone towers on beaches!