Is your Giant or Beast still active or has it retired?
Still active. Hekus Ghel was created in 2026 and is very much a living, developing processional figure. He has already appeared in procession and has been invited to take part in further local events, including the Battle Christmas procession, Battle Medieval Fayre and Hastings Jack in the Green. His story is still being written through his encounters with people, places and other traditions
Description: Hekus Ghel was created by artist Emma Salmon as part of her MA Contemporary Art and Archaeology project Mother Tongue and the Horse. He is a contemporary processional horse, designed to be carried and brought to life through movement and performance.
The starting point for his head was a real horse skull, which came up for sale at a local auction while I was researching animal-headed masks and the Welsh Mari Lwyd. I decided to follow this piece of serendipity rather than make an artificial horse head. The skull was adapted and rebuilt, including the teeth, which were reconstructed using Milliput. A pole and snapping mechanism were constructed to allow the jaw to move, based on research into the mechanics of the Mari Lwyd. His eyes are hand-felted, and ears were added to give him greater vitality and a sense of bringing the skull back to life. On Hekus’s forehead is a gilded solar disc, drawing on Bronze Age imagery and the waves of peoples who spread across Old Europe by horse and chariot.
His cloak is made from an antique cotton and hemp sheet, dyed using a low-water-immersion technique. The ochre-based colours move from dark, earthy tones at the bottom towards lighter, golden yellows above, representing a journey through time towards the sun. The shape of the dyed area was influenced by the graph of the Old European Y chromosome collapse. A depiction of the Venus of Laussel sits alongside geometric forms drawn from cave paintings. The cloak therefore carries the visual traces of the particular story of the horse explored in this incarnation of Hekus.
Hekus remains a work in progress. This incarnation tells one particular story about the horse and its significance in European history, and I intend to develop him through further incarnations, exploring other traditions, myths and meanings associated with the horse, and contemporary folklore, which develops organically as he travels out into the world.
Is there is a folktale connected to your Giant or Beast? Hekus began with a question about language and what survives when cultures change. My MA research started with 23 English words which have been proposed as exceptionally ancient, potentially preserving traces of a language spoken before Proto-Indo-European. This led me into the enormous cultural changes associated with the spread of Indo-European languages and Yamnaya culture across Europe, and particularly to the transformative role of the horse.
The horse changed from prey to domesticated animal, transport and weapon of war, and became increasingly associated with power, warriors and the sun. Across Europe, the recurring image of the horse carrying the sun became a powerful symbol. I became interested in how traces of these ancient ideas survive, transform and reappear in later folk traditions, particularly the British processional horse. The story Hekus carries is also a story of cultural and social transformation. On his cloak is the faceless Venus of Laussel — the Mother, representing every woman — alongside the solar disc associated with the emerging male power structures of the Bronze Age. The disc is deliberately stamped over her face in an act of dominance. The nameless woman, who was anyone, is overwritten by the emergence of the individual: the gold of Varna belonged to someone, someone of social significance.
Hekus brings these fragments together: the prehistoric horse, solar imagery, ancient language, archaeology, the Mari Lwyd and other folk traditions. His name, Hekus Ghel, comes from proposed ancient linguistic roots for horse and gold/shine.
But Hekus is not intended to be a reconstruction of an ancient figure. He is a new creature made from old fragments — a piece of contemporary folklore in the process of being created. And his story is not finished. This first incarnation tells one particular story about the horse and its significance in European history. As Hekus develops, I want to explore other traditions, myths and stories around the horse, allowing him to acquire further “coats” and meanings. His folklore will develop organically as he travels out into the world.
What was the first event the Giant/Beast attended?
Hekus’s first outing was at the opening of Mother Tongue on the summer solstice in 2026. The exhibition opened at 4pm, so most of the visitors had already seen Hekus on display in the gallery. Later, everyone went outside to watch a Morris dancing troupe perform and, as the dancing drew to a close, Hekus emerged from the gallery and came to life. He joined the dancers and then led them and the audience through the woodland, accompanied by an accordion player, to where the band took over the music.
The original plans had included a fire and a clay goddess workshop, but a drought meant that the fire was not permitted, and the workshop could not take place. Instead, the unexpected emergence of Hekus from the gallery became the moment when he changed from an artwork that people had been looking at into a giant that people could follow.
Any tales of outings/visits/strange and wonderful occurrences or special memories that should go down in History
Hekus’s initial outing produced his first taste of unexpected fame. A short film of his emergence from the gallery and procession through the woodland, accompanied by an accordion player, was posted as a Reel. It travelled far beyond the people who had been at the opening and unexpectedly went viral, bringing Hekus to an audience who had never encountered him in person.
Perhaps more importantly, Hekus has already begun to acquire a life and personality beyond the intentions of his maker.
It soon became apparent that Hekus was attracting a rather different and unexpectedly enthusiastic demographic: Gen Z and Gen Alpha. They recognised him as something akin to the Mari Lwyd, particularly through the influence of YouTuber Sam O’Nella’s animations about weird European Christmas customs. I was consequently asked, with increasing regularity, whether Hekus was going to rap battle and whether he would steal people’s beer.
When the band who had played at the Mother Tongue opening announced that they would have a guest rapper for their final song at a major show later that month, supporting rising UK artist Kofi Stone, the idea emerged that perhaps Hekus should live up to his growing infamy and accept the musical challenge.
So, on 31 July 2026, Hekus appeared at the front of the stage at the sold-out De La Warr Pavilion. The response from the young crowd was, in the words of my daughter, that they “lost their shit”. It was a particularly strange and wonderful moment for me as his maker: a horse created from archaeological research into prehistoric language, horses and solar mythology had somehow acquired a reputation as a beer-stealing, rap-battling Mari Lwyd among a generation who had discovered him through the internet.
Who Carries the Giant / Inhabits the Beast, or Is It a Shared Role? Hekus is carried by one person at a time using the internal pole which supports the head and has the snapping mechanism. Because of his height and weight, his handlers need to be tall and strong, and so far these have been my son and a friend’s son, both over 6ft. Hekus is generally carried for relatively short periods before being handed over. He is therefore developing a rather specific requirement for his human entourage: tall boys.
There is an unintended echo here of the strong young horse warriors who feature in the story Hekus carries — the horse as a technology of movement, power and warfare. This time, however, the tall young men are carrying the horse.
How is it stored? Hekus is stored in a large purpose-made bag when he isn’t out on the road.
If you notice an error in this information, want to ask for additional details to be added or request the removal of any image or information, please contact us quoting the reference number above via email in the footer.
Hekus Ghel
Location: Battle, East Sussex
Year / Period Created
2026
Description:
Hekus Ghel was created by artist Emma Salmon as part of her MA Contemporary Art and Archaeology project Mother Tongue and the Horse. He is a contemporary processional horse, designed to be carried and brought to life through movement and performance.
The starting point for his head was a real horse skull, which came up for sale at a local auction while I was researching animal-headed masks and the Welsh Mari Lwyd. I decided to follow this piece of serendipity rather than make an artificial horse head. The skull was adapted and rebuilt, including the teeth, which were reconstructed using Milliput. A pole and snapping mechanism were constructed to allow the jaw to move, based on research into the mechanics of the Mari Lwyd. His eyes are hand-felted, and ears were added to give him greater vitality and a sense of bringing the skull back to life. On Hekus’s forehead is a gilded solar disc, drawing on Bronze Age imagery and the waves of peoples who spread across Old Europe by horse and chariot.
His cloak is made from an antique cotton and hemp sheet, dyed using a low-water-immersion technique. The ochre-based colours move from dark, earthy tones at the bottom towards lighter, golden yellows above, representing a journey through time towards the sun. The shape of the dyed area was influenced by the graph of the Old European Y chromosome collapse. A depiction of the Venus of Laussel sits alongside geometric forms drawn from cave paintings. The cloak therefore carries the visual traces of the particular story of the horse explored in this incarnation of Hekus.
Hekus remains a work in progress. This incarnation tells one particular story about the horse and its significance in European history, and I intend to develop him through further incarnations, exploring other traditions, myths and meanings associated with the horse, and contemporary folklore, which develops organically as he travels out into the world.
Is there is a folktale connected to your Giant or Beast?
Hekus began with a question about language and what survives when cultures change. My MA research started with 23 English words which have been proposed as exceptionally ancient, potentially preserving traces of a language spoken before Proto-Indo-European. This led me into the enormous cultural changes associated with the spread of Indo-European languages and Yamnaya culture across Europe, and particularly to the transformative role of the horse.
The horse changed from prey to domesticated animal, transport and weapon of war, and became increasingly associated with power, warriors and the sun. Across Europe, the recurring image of the horse carrying the sun became a powerful symbol. I became interested in how traces of these ancient ideas survive, transform and reappear in later folk traditions, particularly the British processional horse. The story Hekus carries is also a story of cultural and social transformation. On his cloak is the faceless Venus of Laussel — the Mother, representing every woman — alongside the solar disc associated with the emerging male power structures of the Bronze Age. The disc is deliberately stamped over her face in an act of dominance. The nameless woman, who was anyone, is overwritten by the emergence of the individual: the gold of Varna belonged to someone, someone of social significance.
Hekus brings these fragments together: the prehistoric horse, solar imagery, ancient language, archaeology, the Mari Lwyd and other folk traditions. His name, Hekus Ghel, comes from proposed ancient linguistic roots for horse and gold/shine.
But Hekus is not intended to be a reconstruction of an ancient figure. He is a new creature made from old fragments — a piece of contemporary folklore in the process of being created. And his story is not finished. This first incarnation tells one particular story about the horse and its significance in European history. As Hekus develops, I want to explore other traditions, myths and stories around the horse, allowing him to acquire further “coats” and meanings. His folklore will develop organically as he travels out into the world.
The original plans had included a fire and a clay goddess workshop, but a drought meant that the fire was not permitted, and the workshop could not take place. Instead, the unexpected emergence of Hekus from the gallery became the moment when he changed from an artwork that people had been looking at into a giant that people could follow.
Perhaps more importantly, Hekus has already begun to acquire a life and personality beyond the intentions of his maker.
It soon became apparent that Hekus was attracting a rather different and unexpectedly enthusiastic demographic: Gen Z and Gen Alpha. They recognised him as something akin to the Mari Lwyd, particularly through the influence of YouTuber Sam O’Nella’s animations about weird European Christmas customs. I was consequently asked, with increasing regularity, whether Hekus was going to rap battle and whether he would steal people’s beer.
When the band who had played at the Mother Tongue opening announced that they would have a guest rapper for their final song at a major show later that month, supporting rising UK artist Kofi Stone, the idea emerged that perhaps Hekus should live up to his growing infamy and accept the musical challenge.
So, on 31 July 2026, Hekus appeared at the front of the stage at the sold-out De La Warr Pavilion. The response from the young crowd was, in the words of my daughter, that they “lost their shit”. It was a particularly strange and wonderful moment for me as his maker: a horse created from archaeological research into prehistoric language, horses and solar mythology had somehow acquired a reputation as a beer-stealing, rap-battling Mari Lwyd among a generation who had discovered him through the internet.
Who Carries the Giant / Inhabits the Beast, or Is It a Shared Role?
Hekus is carried by one person at a time using the internal pole which supports the head and has the snapping mechanism. Because of his height and weight, his handlers need to be tall and strong, and so far these have been my son and a friend’s son, both over 6ft. Hekus is generally carried for relatively short periods before being handed over. He is therefore developing a rather specific requirement for his human entourage: tall boys.
There is an unintended echo here of the strong young horse warriors who feature in the story Hekus carries — the horse as a technology of movement, power and warfare. This time, however, the tall young men are carrying the horse.
How is it stored?
Hekus is stored in a large purpose-made bag when he isn’t out on the road.
Website: www.earthstonefire.uk
Ref: 31 BFG
If you notice an error in this information, want to ask for additional details to be added or request the removal of any image or information, please contact us quoting the reference number above via email in the footer.
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