{"id":33870,"date":"2025-04-19T21:04:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T21:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/33870\/"},"modified":"2025-04-19T21:04:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T21:04:32","slug":"there-is-life-among-the-citys-statues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/33870\/","title":{"rendered":"There is life among the city’s statues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edinburgh\u2019s statues have been brought to life with the creative talents of an award-winning filmmaker from Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

Walid Salhab, a media practice lecturer at QMU, has injected life into Edinburgh\u2019s most recently created sculptures using a blend of photography, AI and visual storytelling.<\/p>\n

The bronze statue of Scottish boxing legend, Ken Buchanan, located at the back of the St James Quarter; Wojtek, the Soldier Bear Memorial, in Princes Street Gardens; and Paddington Bear in St Andrew Square Garden, have all shaken off years of immobility and are now strutting around the streets of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

Boxing champ, Ken Buchanan, starts throwing some quick jabs and punches before walking off his plinth in the direction of Leith Walk.<\/p>\n

Wojtek the bear, who fought alongside Polish soldiers in World War II, can be seen enjoying a head scratch and ear rubs before taking a stroll with his Polish owner in Princes Street Gardens. One of the latest additions to Edinburgh\u2019s collection of statues, Paddington Bear, starts eating his iconic marmalade sandwich before heavy rainfall cuts his picnic short and he leaves his park bench for shelter.<\/p>\n

As the creative talent behind these now moving icons, Walid is an award-winning filmmaker and lecturer who is particularly well-known for his unique style of stop-motion\/time-lapse filmmaking. Over the last decade, he has gained international attention with his stunning portrayals of Edinburgh\u2019s iconic buildings and landscapes. His dynamic stop-motion\/time-lapse film of the full five-month build phase of The Kelpies helped to put Falkirk on the international tourism map when the majestic equine monuments were launched in Scotland and New York in 2014.<\/p>\n

Walid has applied his dynamic stop-motion\/time-lapse techniques to create short films which have won him countless accolades in the international film festival circuit.<\/p>\n

In recent years, he has taught himself animation, creating an emotional short film, \u2018Sea of Hope\u2019 about a refugee family\u2019s perilous boat trip across treacherous seas, which was screened at over 90 festivals and won more than 50\u00a0international film awards.<\/p>\n

Discussing his latest work, Walid said: \u201cTo be a good film lecturer, and to enthuse your students, you need to keep experimenting with new techniques and ideas. It\u2019s important to keep your work fresh and to be innovative with your storytelling. Over the last few years, I\u2019ve been teaching myself animation and now I am experimenting with AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m applying AI to photography of statues and landscapes of Edinburgh to push the boundaries of my visual storytelling. My main film successes have always been in the creation of short films. However, my goal is to work out if I can use AI to create a full feature length film. So, I am experimenting to see if one person alone, without the expense of a full crew of actors and camera operators, can create a full feature length movie. If it can be achieved, it will open doors for more talented filmmakers to create movies without the requirement for big budgets and external investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walid continued: \u201cI have always loved showcasing my home city of Edinburgh, and I\u2019ve made lots of stop-motion\/time-lapse films which feature many of the capital\u2019s impressive buildings and landscapes. Recently, I have used AI to enhance some of the footage which I\u2019ve taken in previous years, thereby creating new updated film clips. It\u2019s all part of my research process which I hope will eventually lead to a feature length film one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussing his work with the statues, Walid said: \u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed working with AI to bring some of our city\u2019s statues to life. Often people walk by them without really noticing them, but I hope that my recent film clips can shine a light on these impressive statues and entice people to find out the fascinating stories behind these impressive artworks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho could fail to be fascinated by the endearing story of Wojtek the bear \u2013 the Syrian brown bear adopted by Polish troops during World War II, who helped them carry ammunition. Wojtek fought side by side with soldiers, became an honorary member of the Polish Army\u2019s 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and spent his years after the war in Edinburgh Zoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also fun to bring Ken Buchanan\u2019s bronze statue to life \u2013 allowing the public to see him in action again, throwing some speedy jabs. Ken secured his place in boxing history by conquering the lightweight division in the early 1970s, and he is recognised as one of Scotland\u2019s most successful sportsmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd of course, who doesn\u2019t love the image of Paddington Bear, with his signature red hat, blue duffle coat, and marmalade sandwich? The Paddington Bear statue in Edinburgh is part of a \u2018Paddington Visits\u2019 trail across the UK, which helped to launch the 2024 film \u2018Paddington in Peru\u2019, a live-action animated adventure comedy film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walid\u2019s animated film clips of Edinburgh\u2019s statues have sparked widespread interest, especially on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, where the three videos have collectively achieved more than 21,000 views. On\u00a0TikTok,<\/a>\u00a0the response has been even more impressive: the Ken Buchanan animation has attracted 100,000 views, Wojtek has reached 1,000, and Paddington leads the pack with a remarkable 200,000 views (as of the time of writing).<\/p>\n

Walid concluded: \u201cI love showcasing Edinburgh in my film work, and I hope people enjoy the short film clips of the statues and are encouraged to seek them out, and delve into their individual stories. I\u2019m certainly planning to do more of this experimental filmmaking and to use the power of AI to celebrate Edinburgh\u2019s artistic and cultural landmarks.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can view more of Walid\u2019s latest animation films on\u00a0TikTok<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.<\/p>\n

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