A giant wooden sculpture of a dragon wearing a bucket hat is taking shape in a popular park in Cardiff. The striking sculpture has appeared in Victoria Park in Canton.
It has been carved from a Californian redwood tree that was felled due to being unsafe because it was dead. It is a moving memorial to a young man who lived in close proximity to the park. His family say the carving has saved the tree from becoming a stump.
Fit and healthy student Ethan Williams died suddenly after collapsing in the gym in December, 2020, when he was just 22. Ethan's family approached Cardiff Council to ask if a sculpture could be created out of the felled tree in his memory. The intricate carving is being created by Wood Art Works, a Newport-based wood-sculpting company founded in 1999 by Chris Wood.
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He has showcased his impressive work all over the world and is the current British champion for wood carving. This is his first project he's done for "a fair few months" in the UK.
"Apparently this was Ethan's favourite tree in the park," he explained, adding that he was contacted by Ethan's sister to do the job. He started the carving on Tuesday, October 4, and hopes to finish it by next Monday, October 10. You can get more Cardiff news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Explaining the meaning behind the design, Chris said: "Ethan was fiercely Welsh. He loved the football, he loved rugby, he was very nationalistic." He added that the original plan was to carve a dragon, but then the decision was made to add a bucket hat - a poignant nod to the very bucket hat the student always used to wear.
The playful, friendly-looking dragon is a fitting addition to Victoria Park, located just opposite the splash pad for children. "He's a happy dragon," said Chris.
He added that he had created other tributes - such as mining memorials in the Valleys - and acknowledged he was in a "privileged position" to be tasked with creating them.
"Not many people get to do that and affect people in that way," he said. "It's my job, but I had never foreseen doing this sort of work when I first started. Art has an effect in all sorts of ways, not just mainstream, and the public art I've done has always been received quite well."
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