Edinburgh Airport sculpture commemorates St. Andrews Day

Edinburgh Airport celebrated St. Andrews Day this year by unveiling a giant thistles sculpture which will be the first thing that passengers see when they arrive in Scotland.

Created by Kev Paxton and his team at ArtFe, the thistles sculpture stands at 4.5 metres tall and weighs 600kg. The sculpture is made up of 300 individual parts and took over 400 hours to make and assemble by the team of artists, who won the opportunity to design the striking sculpture. Consisting of two thistles entwined together, the sculpture is designed to move in the wind, giving people the illusion that they are dancing.

Gordon Dewer, Edinburgh Airport’s chief executive commented on the new sculpture:
“The thistle is Scotland’s national flower so it is perfect that we unveil artist Kev Paxton’s fantastic steel structure on the same day that Scots from across the globe celebrate the patron saint of Scotland.

“Edinburgh Airport is where Scotland meets the world and I’m sure the dancing thistles will catch the eye – and the imagination – of everyone coming in and out of the airport.”

Kev Paxton, the artist behind the installation also commented:

“Too many bad things happen in our world, too many tragedies. People need reasons to be happy and smile more. Being from Edinburgh, it will be great if I can make people’s first or lasting impression of my home city a smile by installing iconic Scottish thistles dancing in the rain.”