Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Wooden ‘peh’ served up for charity auction
A DUNDEE ‘peh’ sculpture made of wood taken from the city’s iconic RRS Discovery ship is set to be auctioned off for charity.
The quirky artwork was made by sculptor Tony Morrow, who created the Desperate Dan and dragon statues in the city centre.
Bidding on the ‘peh’, which is currently being displayed at the Discovery, will start at £1,500 with the money going to Marie Curie cancer care.
Catherine Lawson, of Dundee Marie Curie Fundraising Group, said: “Tony Morrow has worked with Dundee Marie Curie before and wanted to use his skill for the charity using something unique to the city.
“What better than wood from the worldwide renowned RRS Discovery?
“The ship was one of the last wooden three-masted barque rigged sailing ships to be built by Dundee Shipbuilders Company.
“Its design was based on the great Dundee whalers. He chose the Dundee ‘peh’ because people from the city carry well-loved memories of it wherever they go and the ‘quirkiness’ of it appealed.
“This is a unique one-off limited edition carving.”
Tony Morrow is an artist who is said to love a challenge and is prepared to work with any material.
To date he has worked with wood, clay, resin and for his notable pieces bronze.
He has exhibited in London and has three sculptured heads in the National Galleries, namely Hugh MacDiarmid, William Sydney Graham and Hamish Henderson.
Tony is well-known in Dundee for his 8ft bronze statue of Desperate Dan, the hero of DC Thomson’s The Dandy comics, the statue of the Dundee Dragon based on a legend from the city and the plaque of the Short Mayo Composite.
The latter is located on the river wall to the left of Discovery Point and celebrates the record non-stop flight from Dundee to South Africa on October 6 1938.
He has also sculpted a head based on the life of Nelson Mandela in the Wellgate Library and Amor Lucis for Oor Wullie’s Bucket Trail in aid of The Archie Foundation.
Bidding for the Dundee ‘peh’ sculpture will take place online.