A stainless steel statue has been unveiled in Buckie as the new gateway feature for the Moray town.
Buckie’s Darling, a 3D sculpture of a deer, was revealed on the grassed area off the Tesco roundabout, at the corner of High Street, A942 and Fairway Road.
The sculpture, created by artist Carn Standing, was selected following a successful public competition in 2019, which saw 10 artists showcase their creations.
The sculpture has been in place for some time for the local community and visitors to enjoy, however, the grand unveiling was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Inspiration for the creation
The 3D sculpture was handmade in the artist’s Portsoy studio using stainless steel bars, sheet and tubing – making its silver appearance ideal for the shoal of silver darlings.
Mr Standing delved into the heritage of the Moray town to inspire his creation.
He explained: “I reflected on the meaning of the name Buckie and where it is said to have originated, from the Gaelic word for buck / male deer.
I was also inspired by how Buckie grew as a town and a community and the importance of fishing.
“I started to see the herring within the body of the deer as a composition to unify the two things, and a symbolism for the uniting of the several villages which led to the Buckie we know today.
“The silver darlings merged into the body of the deer have been arranged as a turning shoal of fish to maximise the movement of the sculpture, to bring it alive.”
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Buckie residents make their choice
In April 2019, a competition was held for UK based artists to submit proposals for a gateway feature to mark the entrance of Buckie and capture the heritage of the town in a sculpture.
A total of 10 artists from all over the UK submitted their ideas and the top three entries were by a shortlisting panel.
The shortlisted artists, Carn Standing, Emma Crawford and Maggie Clyde, all made maquettes of their entries before being put on display to the public for six weeks at Tesco in Buckie.
More than 450 comments were made about the artwork before the panel made their final deliberations, choosing Buckie’s Darling as the winning entry.
Buckie’s Darling sculpture to become signature talking point.
The project was been funded by £25,000 of Developer Obligations received from Tesco in 2010 as part of the financial contributions for the development of the Tesco store in Buckie.
Chairman of Moray Council’s Planning & Regulatory Services committee, councillor David Bremner, said it’s been exciting to see the artists’ proposals and their visions for Buckie and the future.
He said: “While all of the designs were extremely impressive, the Buckie’s Darling sculpture caught my attention straight away.
“We received a large number of positive comments about the piece from the local community and knew it would fit in well to the local surroundings.
“It’s been fantastic to see the local community engage in the project and provide their feedback on the design proposals and I’m confident that the winning sculpture will be a talking point of the area for years to come.”