Where We Come From (8 Photos)

The past is still out on the street

These murals and sculptures tell you something about the people behind a place: the horses that moved its goods, the trades that kept it working, the crops people grow and the history they put on display. Some rise above the skyline. One is a ram made from the remains of a farmhouse.

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🐏 Merino Ram — By Matt Sloane in Richmond, Tasmania, Australia 🇦🇺

Look closely at the fleece: it is assembled from metal parts. For this ram, Sloane used scrap from the site of Richmond Park’s burned homestead, including an oven door and a toilet cistern. Its ear tag reads 1823, the year of the farm’s original land grant.

More: Matt Sloane’s Merino Ram

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🐴 “The Kelpies” — By Andy Scott in Falkirk, Scotland, UK 🇬🇧

The horses that hauled goods through Scotland have become the landmark. Andy Scott’s two 30-meter heads stand beside the Forth & Clyde Canal, their steel plates glowing against the evening sky. Scottish Canals traces their inspiration to the working Clydesdales of Scotland’s past.

💡 Horse Fact: The heads were modeled on two real Clydesdales, Duke and Baron. Falkirk Council’s monument record notes that both horses attended the topping-out ceremony when the sculptures were completed on November 27, 2013.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Kelpies sculptures by Andy Scott, The Helix, Falkirk, ScotlandAndy Scott · 2013 · Falkirk, Scotland30 metres tallStainless & mild steelTwo Clydesdales1Duke and Baron visited Andy Scott’s Glasgow studio; the sculptures inherited the two Clydesdales’ names.The Scottish Banner2The engineers specified a milled stainless-steel finish to limit glare toward drivers on the nearby M9 motorway.Ingenia20138 AugPhoto: steel frame under construction, seen from the M9201325 SepPhoto: cladding being fitted to a head201327 NovCompletion reported202430 AprAnniversary visit report202621 JulPark closed by flooding · STV News20262 SepCouncil site-visit reportMore photos2013 Steel frame under construction, seen from the M9Photo: tormentor4555 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)2013 Cladding being fitted to a headPhoto: Scottish Government / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Jonathan Combe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), cropped

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🔥 The Foundry — By Eslícer in Campdevànol, Spain 🇪🇸

A worker tips a crucible and a bright stream of metal runs down the building. Eslícer’s mural belongs to Campdevànol’s GraffTech project, where 12 facades follow the history of metalworking. The workshop is painted on a residential wall, with parked cars and windows still visible around it.

💡 Route Fact: All the walls were painted at the same time, by 12 artists on 12 lifts. The organizers say the route runs in order from the woodcutter who made charcoal for the forges and the miner to modern industry, and QR codes bring each wall’s character out in 3D on your phone.

More: The People Who Keep Cities Going (11 Photos)

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👼 “Angel of the North” — By Antony Gormley in Gateshead, England, UK 🇬🇧

The wings spread across the sky like the ribs of an enormous steel structure. Antony Gormley gave the Angel a specific link to the ground beneath it: coal miners had worked below the site for 200 years.

💡 Engineering Fact: Below the grass, eight steel-reinforced concrete piles reach solid rock about 20 meters down, according to Gateshead Council. The 52 three-meter bolts cast into the plinth hold the Angel against winds of more than 100 mph.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAngel of the North sculpture by Antony Gormley, Lamesley, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, UKAntony Gormley · 1998 · Gateshead, England54-metre wingspanCor-ten steelCommissioned by Gateshead1Arup says Gormley made the 3D design model by scanning his own body and plotting the coordinates into a virtual angel.Arup2The council chose Gormley in January 1994; the £800,000 budget included £584,000 of Arts Council lottery money.Gateshead Council199815 FebCompleted, per Wikipedia202216 OctGeograph photo202315 Feb25th birthday report202410 SepGeograph photo202515 AugGeograph photo from the A1202629 MarTravel blog post202626 MayGeograph photoRead the full file →

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🌰 “Sobral, the Product of Its History” — By FATE in Igreja Nova do Sobral, Portugal 🇵🇹

An acorn has become an enormous load, with a little chapel perched on its cap. The young woman below strains under its weight. The work’s description connects Sobral’s cork oaks and chapel with a younger generation carrying its heritage forward. The past takes up quite a lot of wall.

💡 Chapel Fact: The chapel is no recent addition to the village. The mural’s description says it has stood among Sobral’s ancient cork oaks for more than four centuries.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSobral, the product of its history — FATE, Ferreira do ZêzereFATE · 2026 · Lugar do Sobral, PortugalUnveiled July 2026Lugar do SobralVillage festa1The parish says the giant acorn stands for pride in Sobral’s origins and the legacy passed between generations.Junta de Freguesia2According to the parish, the chapel on the acorn stands for more than four centuries of village history.Junta de Freguesia202626 JunUnveiling announced in the festa programme · Rádio Hertz (byline date; page metadata 28 Jun)20265 JulListed on Street Art Cities with photo202610 JulInauguration report · Junta de FreguesiaRead the full file →

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🫒 Olive Mother — By Sock Wild Sketch & TETAL in Cerignola, Italy 🇮🇹

Olive branches form a crown above a face that looks carved from old wood. Sock Wild Sketch and TETAL’s tribute to Mother Nature stands in a town with a long olive-growing history. Cerignola’s cured olives were reaching the eastern United States by the late nineteenth century.

💡 Olive Fact: Cerignola’s big olive is a table olive, grown for eating. In 2000 the Bella di Cerignola became a protected EU product under the name “La Bella della Daunia,” according to the growers’ consortium.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMother Nature mural — Sock Wild Sketch & Tetalov, CerignolaSock Wild Sketch & Tetalov · 2026 · Cerignola, ItalyPainted 2026San Samuele districtFestival dell’Ambiente1Cerignola Viva says the mural opened Cerignola’s Festival dell’Ambiente, which the city administration promotes and funds.Cerignola Viva2According to Vivere Cerignola, the scars on the face refer to the violence women still suffer.Vivere Cerignola20262 MayListed on Street Art Cities with photo20264 MayUnveiled at the Festival dell’Ambiente · Vivere Cerignola20265 MayNew mural in San Samuele · Cerignola VivaRead the full file →

More: Nature Meets Art

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🗿 “Statue of Unity” — By Ram V. Sutar in Kevadia, Gujarat, India 🇮🇳

The bridge and visitors at its base make the figure’s size easier to grasp. Ram V. Sutar’s 182-meter statue above the Narmada River depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first home minister and a central figure in bringing its princely states together after independence.

💡 Artist Fact: Born in 1925 in Maharashtra’s Dhule district, Sutar also made the seated Mahatma Gandhi and the equestrian Chhatrapati Shivaji in India’s Parliament complex. All India Radio reported that he died at his home in Noida in December 2025, aged 100.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsStatue of Unity — Ram V. Sutar, KevadiaRam V. Sutar · 2018 · Kevadia, India182 metresInaugurated 2018Sadhu Bet, Narmada River1The 182-metre height reflects the number of constituencies in the Gujarat Assembly.Michael Graves2Twin concrete cores, a steel framework and bronze facade panels support the monumental portrait.Arup201831 OctDedicated to the nation at Kevadia: official ceremony record20265 OctGujarat Tourism page updated; not a dated photograph or inspection202631 OctFloral tributes at the statue on National Unity Day · All India RadioRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Himanshu Pandya

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🌽 “Alma de Maíz” — By Margay Art & Guache in Toulouse, France 🇫🇷

A seated figure handles corn beneath an orange face looking up the wall. The two portraits are joined by bright leaves, kernels and ribbons of color. Toulouse’s Latino Graff festival brought together Margay from France and Guache from Colombia for this mural. A crop with deep roots in the Americas fills the side of a French apartment building.

💡 Festival Fact: The wall was painted for Latino Graff’s 10th-anniversary edition, held in Toulouse from August 22 to 31, 2026. The festival’s post about it is titled “Nous sommes du maïs” (“We are corn”) and pays tribute to people in Latin America who stand up for land, water and corn, often at great risk.

📷 Photo: Picturaline

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