The mystery solved as the sculptor reveals what an unlikely landmark it actually is

The mystery surrounding the stern statue at the end of Otterspool Promenade has been put to rest.

After the ECHO visited the red concrete monument, many readers debated what the statue actually was. Some insisted it was a Trojan horse, while others claimed it was a “supercow potato.”

No one seemed to have a clear answer, and that could be because the silhouette bears the characteristics of different creatures.

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The ambiguous figure dons the powerful hooves of a horse, the distinctive hump of a camel, and in addition a thin yet twisted mustache and beard reminiscent of Don Diego De la Vega’s alter ego, Zorro.

The statue was created by Indian sculptor Dhruva Mistry, 27, for the Liverpool Garden Festival in 1984 and moved to its current location since the prom in 2006. The artist, now 67, confirmed that he chose his image. a Seated Bull on which to base the statue, as it was “inspired by his virile strength of form”.

He said: “It is tantalizing, daring and challenging for its scale with the most common materials such as steel, sand and cement. Some pieces in the Assyrian and Indian section of the British Museum were inspired.”

The artist explained how Lord Shiva’s Nandi Bull is popular in India and there are enough cows and bulls on the roads in small towns in India. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the supreme lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe.

The Otterspool bull was originally an array of colors – specifically different shades of yellow and red, which were diluted in a bucket and poured over with a glass.

It had eyes, stomach, legs and hooves highlighted with a black color. Dhruva thinks it has since been repainted.

Speaking about creating the sculpture, he said: “I was excited to be out of art school to explore my interest in making work outdoors, using cheap building materials to achieve scale.

“It was an igloo-like shell, hand-made with sand and cement on a steel frame. Working on the site (the garden festival) meant dealing with chilly winds that ripped the plastic cover off the spacious scaffolding and spring showers.

“There were works by young and established sculptors, spread over a site. The work was painted in a range of warm hues from lemon yellow to crimson red, simply poured and splashed with a glass, walking around the piece with a bucket of thinned paint.

He continued: “Back then Merseyside politics was dominated by militant labor and the workers on the site called him ‘Red Bull’. In early 2006 the piece was moved to Otterspool Promenade in south Liverpool by the council and painted over with vermilion and black and white for eyes, destroying the original richness of colour.”

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