The Stallion of the South

So now we know, the 50m (that's as tall as Nelson's Column or the Statue of Liberty) Ebbsfleet Landmark that will be towering over Ebbsfleet International to the tune of £2m (don't worry whereas "The Angel" was funded with public money, the Ebbsfleet Landmark's cost is being covered by Eurostar, London & Continental Railways and Land Securities, developers of Ebbsfleet Valley).

So who won? well, of course, it was the "White Elephant", er, I mean the "White Horse" which has been dubbed as "The Stallion of the South", which incidently has been modeled upon real life race horse ,"Riviera Red", who coincidently was the "first past the post in the 2.40pm race at Lingfield at odds of 11/2" on the same day that that Mark Wallinger's sculture got announced.

I say "of course" because of the 5 entries, the "Stallion" is probably the only design that has any real connections to Kent, that of the famous white horse which features in the county's coat of arms as well as appearing in numerous logos of many companies and sports teams in Kent. However, writing for "The Guardian" on 07.05.2008, Adrian Searle has this to say about it:

"In the model, a human isn't as tall as a horse's hoof. This racehorse isn't going anywhere. It's out to pasture. I imagine birds nesting in the animal's ears and grafitti on its fetlocks. Unlike the White Horse on the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire, or other horses and figures carved into the chalk downland, this giant beast is just silly. It makes me cringe. Wallinger is from Essex, where they have a thing about their Kentish cousins across the river, and the horse would be a constant reminder to the inhabitants of Ebbsfleet that they live in toytown"

Ouch! For me, I'll just see the "Stallion of the South" as a curious feature upon the Kentish countryside - not quite a blot, but then not quite an icon either!

UPDATE

It looks like local and media opinion that it's a "waste of money" to have something that looks like an "old nag" gone to grass. Talking with the BBC Magazine, Mrs Pita Kelena, a historian, suggests that:

"In [ancient Indian] Vedic myth and ritual the white horse represented the primeval force that moves at the speed of light. The white horse played a key role in later religions: Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity.

Outside Luoyang, the Han emperor constructed the White Horse Temple to welcome Buddhist missionaries arriving from the west. In medieval England, St George battled the dread dragon on a magnificent white steed.

Despite its passive stance, the horse - which will be visible to passing Eurostar passengers - could be a symbol of speed"

It just looks like someone is trying to slap some white gloss on this whole sorry business. I'm not against the concept of an "Angel of the South", I just want to see something that is powerful, provocative, iconic and something that the people of Kent can be proud of. For £2m, it's not that much to ask, is it?

Comments

[Derica]

Great work.