Can anyone help with any info on the POLO

[golach]

Can anybody help,
a few interested Ex Pat Caithnessians have asked if any information on the "POLO" can be given, i.e. Who built it & Why? Why was the location decided, and is there any specific reason for it being there
http://www.caithness.org/atoz/scrabster/photogallery/thumbs.htm?0?8

many thanks

Golach

[Absolut1]

It was built as part of an art display or something for the northlands festival a few yrs ago, as far as I can remember

[MadPict]

It reminds me of the work of Andy Goldsworthy - he uses many types of material to do his sculptures and many are in situ where the raw material is.
For an example of his work -

http://www.sculpture.org.uk/image/504816331403

[Doolally]

Dunno about the POLO but here are some interesting facts :

More than 140 Polo's are consumed every second. almost 20% of these are The Spearmint variety. It takes the weight of two elephants to press a Polo mint, and more than 38 million Polo's are produced every day!.

These ones aren't made of stone though! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[janette]

The "polo" was part of the Northlands Festival Sculptures - others were placed at the buisiness park - and if I remember correctly caused quite a headache for the organisers as they did not receive the necessary planning approval and were also against regulations for health and safety. Needless to say by the time the authorities had the paperwork in place to have them removed, the scuptures were gone. The "polo" communicated with one of the sculptures in the business park.

Enough said!!!!!!!!!!

[Tugmistress]

there is another one in the shape of a triangle, i have been told that was done by the same artist, it is just past the weigh inn if you are going towards scrabster from thurso on the right hand side where the road dips and the grass is scruffy behind the barriers.
can someone confirm this to be true please? :o)

[Bill Fernie]

The sculpture called the Vent was put up in 2001 as part of the Northlands Festival.
Blurb on the page from 2001 as follows -
The Northlands Festival commissioned this new sculpture by George Wyllie one of the UK's best and most imaginative sculptors. The sculpture will be in place long after the the festival has passed. The sculpture has been made from Caithness stone with steel additions. The Vent window represents a link to the new Scottish Parliament with the ancient Parliament of Iceland. The sculpture is situated on a small headland near Thurso on the road to Scrabster. It is easy to find if you keep an eye out on the right hand side as you drive to Scrabster.
Pictures can be seen on Caithness.org at -
http://www.caithness.org/atoz/scrabster/vent/vent/index.htm

If you are at the Vent then you could also visit the site of the Bishops Palace just behind it right on the small cliff above the beach. Pictures at -
http://www.caithness.org/caithness/castles/bishopspalace/index.htm

[Tugmistress]

Thank you very much for the info, it will come in very useful when i get the photo i want using the 'vent' as a frame :D

[golach]

Thanks very much Bill, the number of times I have walked past that site of the Bishops palace and never knew a thing about it, all that seemed to interest me in that area when I was wee was the "Rocket Shed" where they fired the maroons for the Lifeboat, I always wanted to see them being fired but never did.
The info on the "Vent" is very informative, so can you post a wee bit more on the POLO please

in anticipation
Golach

[Bill Fernie]

Sorry I do not have any further information on the Polo. I know it was put up as part of an earler Northlands Festival but not sure which year. Someone else may eventually see the thread and post the information. Let me kow if anyone spots it and I will add something to the pictures about it.