Orca in the moat

Nice relaxing day today, topped off with a walk around the castle, the big news is that a killer whale has been spotted in Caerphilly Castle moat. Visitors to the town should fear not, as the animal is a sculpture by Rhondda artist Barry Lewis.

It is the third year running the sculptor has planted a surprise in the waters surrounding the 13th Century castle. The piece is part of a new gallery exhibition called ‘Metalmorphosis’ which has just opened in Y Galeri, in St Fagans Street, in Caerphilly town. The work follows Monster in the Moat in 2012 and his Octopus last year. Jan Pennell, Artistic Director of Y Galeri, said: “The emphasis on the installation is to create a visually engaging artwork that is accessible to a wide audience and is site specific in terms of context and physical location.

“This is certainly the case in the busy town especially with the huge influx of visitors expected during the Big Cheese event at the end of the month.

“Y Galeri has been working in partnership with Cadw to bring the installation to fruition. The artist is thrilled to display his work once again in such a prominent place with such a historic backdrop.”

The killer whale was created using old satellite dishes and has small solar panels so that the piece is lit up at night.