A new major artwork for John O'Groats, worth more than £160,000, based on the theme of local "itinerant boulders", will be created by two of Scotland's leading contemporary artists.
Award-winning duo Dalziel + Scullion have been commissioned to create a new permanent artwork, Nomadic Boulders, at John O' Groats.
Funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Creative Scotland, the artwork will be a "focal point for locals and visitors in the heart of the small Highland coastal village."
Matthew Dalziel and Louise Scullion are based in Dundee and have worked together since 1993.
The artwork project for John O' Groats is part funded by HIE and Creative Scotland up to a maximum of £162,000.
The artists will work in conjunction with Edinburgh based engineers Blyth & Blyth and the Black Isle Bronze foundry, based in Nairn near Inverness.
Louise Scullion said: "We are really excited by this project, there are so many interesting stories surrounding John O' Groats, concerning its unusual biodiversity, its local customs and remarkable geology.
"Often these get overlooked by visitors to the area, but when we heard about the rolling boulders of the Pentland Firth, we thought them a unique emblem of just how powerful this mighty body of water is - one of the fastest currents in the world - whose strength is hard to imagine from the safety of the shore.
"We very much look forward to realising this project with the skilful and experienced team who have committed to it."
Local stories tell of large boulders on the seabed of the Pentland Firth rolling backwards and forwards with the tides. Dalziel + Scullion confirmed these stories with various experts, including professor Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh - who was involved in some of the early seabed surveys of the area - and the European Marine Energy Centre and the Fisheries Research Lab in Aberdeen.
The Pentland Firth's itinerant boulders are thought to range from 25cm to 100cm diameter and depending on the ferocity of tides and currents travel significant distances with every 12 hour tide cycle.
A public meeting will be held in the John O' Groats Village Hall on the 13 March when the artists will introduce and illustrate their idea.
The project design team will work with local people, stakeholders and landowners until a final unveiling event at the end of Autumn 2015.
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