Stonehaven’s answer to Banksy has finally been unmasked.
The origin of an exquisite series of steel sculptures has baffled the residents of the town for years.
The artworks on the bay include a seal, a Viking boat, two fishing boats and a lighthouse.
The mystery sculptor – dubbed the Stoney Banksy – has now come forward to confirm his identity.
The interview with Jim Malcolm, 68, yesterday went live on BBC Scotland social media outlets and will be screened on the TV series Loop tonight on BBC Scotland.
His sculptural creations made of scrap metal have been popping up around Stonehaven for about 15 years.
Jim’s creations have flummoxed the wider world as to the identity of their creator but close friends in the area knew it was Jim and often left scrap metal at his door to provide material for his creations.
Sculptures made of scrap metal have been appearing around Stonehaven for 15 years, but the identity of the creator remained a secret.
This is Stonehaven's mystery metal sculptor.
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Jim said: “People have been trying to find who I am for a while now.
“Personally I get a bit embarrassed about it. What does it matter who did or didn’t do it? This will be my first and last interview.”
Jim was inspired by the sea from a young age, going out on boats from the age of eight and working much of his adult life at sea before latterly becoming a welder.
He retired three years ago.
The sculptor said: “The sea to me means freedom.”
He was spurred on to take up making his artworks, when he created a steel salmon – which he posted on the shoreline – to wind up a friend who had been found guilty of poaching.
Although Jim is inspired by the sea, he doesn’t always know how his creations – which have included fish, boats, a seal and a lighthouse all erected near the seafront – will turn out.
He said: “It just evolves when I’m doing it. I never know what I’m doing ’til I’m finished.”
However despite the acclaim for his work, the pensioner remains modest: “I’m nae an artist, nah, I’m just a guy that sticks metal together.”
