A massive 32ft sea goddess puppet christened Storm has braved wind and rain being blown in from the Moray Firth coast.
The huge creature stepped into the elements in Burghead and Nairn at the weekend to raise awareness of the crisis facing our oceans.
Inspired by folklore, Storm aims to encourage people to take action to protect the environment.
How does Storm operate?
Standing at 32ft tall, Storm is the largest puppet in Scotland.
However, despite her huge size, she remains completely operated by puppeteers.
A crew of 10 move the mythical figure’s legs, arms and head by pulling on ropes.
Symon Macintyre, artistic director of Edinburgh-based Vision Mechanics, who created Storm, said: “When we were looking to make Storm we realised we had to try and keep our carbon footprint very low.
“We recycled an older puppet of ours called Big Man Walking. Her insides are made of recycled steel and aluminium, and they’re all wheels and cogs.
“It’s a very physical thing. It’s not automatic, it’s not controlled by big machines, it’s controlled physically by the 10 puppeteers.
“Her outer frame is all willowed. Her whole shape is this woven patterns and on top of that is recycled plastic from bubble wrap, wrapper and old bits of fishing net are hanging from her too.”
Storm’s environmental message
Storm travelled north at the weekend as part of the Source To Sea festival in Burghead before moving to Nairn for the town’s book and arts festival.
She is described as a mythical sea goddess from the deep, who has risen to encourage us all to celebrate our oceans and care for our coastlines.
The massive puppet took two years to create and is made entirely from recycled materials.
She will next be in Dundee on September 26 and will next be north in Wick on October 11 and in Oban on October 24.