Could this be the new heart of Midlothian?
Art experts and council officials have been bemused by a mysterious new statue which has appeared at one of Scotland's most iconic monuments.
The sculpture, of a girl with a spiky balloon that is both a heart and a bomb, was placed at the Scott Monument in Edinburgh during the night of February 13 this week.
The sculpture, which observers have compared to the work of famous street artist known as Banksy was placed right next to John Steell's famous statue of Sir Walter Scott.
The heart-shaped bomb could be a reference to this week's Valentine's Day, or perhaps a nod to Scott's own novel, The Heart of Midlothian, from 1818.
The City of Edinburgh council have not been informed of the identity of the artist and a spokeswoman said that the sculpture, if not claimed, will be removed until the artist would like to have it returned.
She said: "Staff at the Scott Monument were surprised to see the mysterious sculpture appear overnight.
"It appears to be a love note of sorts and certainly makes a statement.
"We were content to leave it on site for Valentine’s Day in the hope that the artist comes back to retrieve it afterwards.
"If not, it will have to be removed."
Council staff had moved the sculpture and discovered it was "heavy".
Staff at the National Galleries of Scotland, situated nearby, said they did not know the identity of the artist.
It has been speculated that students from the Edinburgh College of Art may have been involved in the sculpture but a spokesman denied students were involved.
Lucy Askew, Senior Curator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: “I haven't seen this work but there is an interesting trend for artworks by anonymous artists appearing in unexpected, public places which capture the public imagination – the series of book sculptures that appeared in locations across Edinburgh and Scotland for instance seemed to be very popular."
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