''The DunBear'' is a giant five-metre-high steel

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of a

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

standing on its hind legs. The public artwork is located immediately adjacent to the A1 at DunBear Par,

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, Scotland. This proposed low carbon community is part of the Hallhill development and is being progressed by the landowner, Hallhill Developments Ltd. Erected in November 2019, ''The DunBear'' is a tribute to

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...

, the Dunbar-born naturalist and conservationist. Muir is known as "Father of the

National Parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

" due to his role in the establishment of National Parks in the US, including

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

and Sequoia National Parks. The brown bear sculpture was created by

Andy Scott (sculptor) Andy Scott (born 1964) is a Scottish figurative sculptor, working in galvanised steel. Biography Andy Scott graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts ( with honours) in Fine Art Sculpture, and in 1987 with a diploma ...

, the Scottish sculptor whose other public artworks include ''

The Kelpies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

and the '' Beacon of Hope'' in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

History

The name of the sculpture, ''The DunBear'', was chosen as the result of a competition involving local schools and named by a pupil at Dunbar Grammar School. It is a play on words of the town of "Dunbar" and the sculpture of a "bear". The brown bear was chosen to symbolise the role that John Muir played in establishing National Parks in the USA. These included Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, and through the creation of these certain species such as the brown bear have survived and thrived. According to the sculptor, Andy Scott, ''The DunBear'' "is a symbol of the wilderness John Muir was such a passionate advocate of and is testament to his incredible desire to protect the natural environment". He hopes it "will provide an opportunity to enlighten people about the man and his work". Planning permission for ''The DunBear'' was granted in October 2018 and it was erected in November 2019. It was unveiled by the sculptor, Andy Scott, children from Dunbar Primary School and local dignitaries. The sculpture forms the centrepiece of DunBear Park, a proposed low carbon mixed-use development, which aims to include a variety of commercial, community and residential uses. It was launched in May 2020 and is planned around ''The DunBear''. DunBear Park is part of the mixed-use Hallhill development which started on site in 1999 and is being undertaken by the landowner, Hallhill Developments Ltd. Extending to more than 400 acres, the Hallhill development has delivered more than 1,500 homes, including around 250 affordable family homes. Hallhill is also the location for Dunbar Primary School (primnaries four to seven), together with playing fields; retail and food outlets; a pub/restaurant; a hotel; a community sports hub, and over 50 acres of community woodland.

Structure

FREE Andy Scott Giant Bear Sculpture Dunbar MED RES 01

''The DunBear'' is five metres high and positioned on top of a mound at DunBear Park, Hallhill, in Dunbar. Located immediately adjacent to the A1, the site for ''The DunBear'' was selected as it is at the primary gateway to the town and is visible from both the A1 and

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

. Work on the sculpture commenced in 2018 and was completed in 2019. ''The DunBear'' is made of welded steel and fabricated from plates of various thicknesses. Heavy at the bottom and lighter towards the top, this gives the structure an inherent strength. The sculpture is fixed to a base erected on a mound planted with wildflowers, and visitors can access it via a footpath. Illuminated by lighting powered by onsite solar panels, it is also lit up on key dates throughout the year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DunBear 2019 sculptures Sculptures of bears