Oak wood, 370 x 310 x 55 cm
In the summer of 2007, the Welsh sculptor David Lloyd sawed, chiselled and polished for around four weeks behind what is now House D of the Europäische Akademie Otzenhausen to transform the trunk of a 200-year-old oak tree into what it is today: the two mighty Celtic warriors guarding the entrance to the Arboretum Europaeum - Sustainability Park. They are not part of the Celtic sculpture trail Cerda & Celtoi and yet were created in this context. David Lloyd was also involved in the project of the same name and created the work "Tarian Prydeinig" (= "Battersea Shield", carved after the famous Celtic original).

Today it stands as sculpture no. 14 on the plateau of the "Hunnenring", the Celtic hill fort of Otzenhausen. The two warriors are roughly based on the authentic sculptures "Warrior of Hirschlanden" and "Prince of Glauberg" respectively and take up various elements of these original finds: the crossed arm posture, the leaf crown and their short sword. Only the oak leaves are definitely a concession to our time.

"My work is shaped by environment and culture, their relationship to place and identity; site-specific environmentally oriented works of art are created. My goal is to incorporate renewable technologies into the design and implementation of future commissions," says David Lloyd, who describes himself as an artist, social worker, graphic designer, doer and project manager - in that order. He lives and works in Kidwelly, Wales, combining artistic and educational work - from early childhood to higher or adult education. He also works in special education, art therapy and art for the disabled, as well as numerous private and public art projects.