One winter day, I was intrigued to see two cheeky brown pony head sculptures sniffing the air above the wall at the end of the road to Riverside School and the Post Office.

On the tow path the other side of the wall, the two ponies greeted me – bearing the weight of a wooden bench between them. They are enchantingly sturdy, elegant and cheerful. On their flanks, they are branded with the name of the artist – Lucy Casson – and Hargreaves Foundry in Halifax that cast the sculptures.

Nearly 20 years ago, I’d videotaped Lucy Casson making junk automata out of old Castrol oil cans scavenged from a dump, for an exhibition at the Wolf in the Door Gallery in Penzance. It had been fascinating to watch the process. Continue reading →