The Bear stands over 9′ tall and captures the creature’s domineering presence.

The bear has not been present in Britain for a thousand years. However, the bear is still connected to Britain through its history and culture.

The Bear was constructed near the Roman village of Caerleon in East Wales where there is a well preserved amphitheater where the bears along with wolves and wild boar would have been brought to fight.

Bears were not only used for sport in the amphitheaters, but Bears also featured in the story of the roman gods, where a maiden and her son here transformed into bears Ursa major and Ursa minor, which are still present today as star constellations.

The ancient Britons the celts. In the language of the celts, the bear was called arth, still used in Welsh today. Arth was the name given by the celts to warriors and in time to leaders. Arth was thought to develop into the name Arthur, connecting the bear to one of Britain’s most famous historical figures, King Arthur.

The brown bear is an animal more often associated with North America, Canada, Russia and Continental Europe.  Wherever the bear has been present it is linked to stories from ancient culture and folk law. In these stories the bear is often depicted as gods and creatures connected to the supernatural, from gods that raise the sun in the Pyrenees to tales of nature’s all-protecting mother in North America.

In the way that the bear has been depicted in historical folk law and cultures is where Chris drew a lot of his inspiration for The Bear, one of his tallest sculptures.