Commissioned by
STV in honour of Robert Burns after the public voted him to be The Greatest Scot, the £25,000 piece is the latest addition to the Poet’s Path which leads from the museum building in Alloway to the cottage where Burns was born.
Inspired by Burns’s work A Fragment (On Glenriddel’s Fox Breaking his Chain), Glasgow-based artist Kenny Hunter has created a stunning work called Liberty Regain’d. Cast in iron and as described in the poem the sculpture depicts a fox, a chain and a tree stump, it also creates a partner to his awe-inspiring Monument to a Mouse, a not-so timorous beastie that towers over visitors to the site.
Kenny selected this poem as he thought its themes were ones that Burns felt keenly and to which he frequently returned in his writings. Kenny said:
“Liberty it could be argued is a central theme for Burns and he often made poems out of its various aspects, personal, economic, social, ecclesiastical, political, and international, but he always saw freedom concretely, in relation to Scotland's problems and to the paradoxical psychology of her people.”
Rob Woodward, Chief Executive of STV said:
“STV Viewers from across the world voted Robert Burns as the country’s most important, influential and popular Scot of all time as part of our 2009 series, and we are delighted to have commissioned such a lasting tribute to the nation’s bard. Kenny Hunter has created a stunning piece which honours a true cultural icon.”
The statue is the latest addition to the exhibition at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum’s Poet’s Path which is punctuated by a series of installations by contemporary artists and designers, including Glasgow-based Timorous Beasties.
Museum Director Nat Edwards said:
“Kenny's statue does something very special. It combines real, immediate beauty with quite a challenging depth of understanding of Burns's key message. Its themes of real freedom are as meaningful today as they were in Burns's time. I think it will inspire a lot of people to rediscover an important poem.”
Along with the Auld Kirk and Brig o’ Doon, the cottage where Burns was born has been combined with the Burns Monument and the new award-winning museum building to form the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Generously supported by the Scottish Government and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the museum commemorates the life and works of Robert Burns.
Since opening to the public in December 2010, the museum has welcomed close to
half a million visitors and has won a series of accolades including being selected as a finalist for the prestigious Art Fund prize, securing a
five star rating from VisitScotland and being named as Horace Broon’s ‘new favourite place in Scotland’.
Find out more about the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum at
www.burnsmuseum.org.uk
