Meet the Flockers: keep to the bleat at this year’s Royal Highland Show

We’re rounding up all the individual artworks that form the massive cross-country public art trail Flock to the Show, which points in celebration to this year’s come back for the Golden Shears competition to the Royal Highland Show. Today – Sheep Will Rock Ewe by Adriana De Matos sponsored by Greatest Hits Radio

Sheep Will Rock Ewe by Adriana De Matos

The Golden Shears World Sheep Shearing & Woolhandling Championships is returning to the Royal Highland Show in June after 20 years.

Held in the MacRobert Theatre, more than 35 countries from across the world will battle it out to see who is the fastest sheep shearer and who has the best woolhandling technique.

The highly-anticipated event will feature 39 decorated sheep sculptures that are currently on tour across Scotland in the Flock to the Show public art trail.

The Scotsman is the media partner for both events and the Royal Highland Show is held from 22 to 25 June.

Visit the website at royalhighlandshow.org

Meet the artist

Adriana De Matos was born in Portugal, where she trained as a professional artist.

She moved to Scotland in 2014 and fell in love with the beauty of the country’s fauna and flora. The artist began portraying Scotland’s native forest creatures, birds and more exotic species, using oil paint, ink and watercolour.

With this collection of works in mind, Adriana decided to establish her own wildlife illustration business, selling not only her original artwork but also an affordable range of prints and merchandise inspired by this natural portfolio.

Adriana says: “I decided to step out of my comfort zone to create an anthropomorphic painting based on the popular concept of a black sheep, reflecting on what this meant to me personally.

“I decided to dress up my sheep as a fabulous rock star, inspired by the glam rock and metal bands Iidolised as a rebel teenager, during my very own ‘black sheep’ phase.”

Sheep Will Rock Ewe

Sheep Will Rock Ewe by Adriana De Matos raises awareness of agri-inflation – the increase in prices of goods and services related to the agricultural industry.

This can increase the price of growing food products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats, as well as inputs used in agriculture, including fertilisers, pesticides, and equipment.

Agri-inflation can be influenced by various factors, including changes in supply and demand, weather patterns, government policies, and currency fluctuations.

As agricultural products are essential foods, increases in agri-inflation can have significant impacts on consumer prices and overall economic growth.

Agricultural inflation has been driven by several factors. One of the primary causes is rising input costs. This includes expenses for fuel, labour, fertiliser, and other materials necessary for operations, and is currently running at approximately 33 per cent in Scotland.

Meet the sponsor

Greatest Hits Radio reaches listeners across Edinburgh, The Lothians, Fife and Falkirk, playing all the greatest hits from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

It is home to Cat At Breakfast, radio legend Ken Bruce, Simon Mayo, Stuart Webster, Fred MacAulay and Jackie Brambles. Greatest Hits Radio – formerly Forth 2 – is the sister station to Forth 1, and is located in the Capital’s St James Quarter.

The station says: “We have been involved with fantastic and innovative sculpture art trails in the past, and we loved this idea for the RHS.

“We have also worked very closely with the RHS for many years and our listeners love the show too, so it felt like a perfect fit. Then we also found a Sheep Will Rock Ewe sculpture, which was ideal!”

Find your fleece

Locate today’s sheep and access our VIP competition to win free parking, hospitality, and lots more by following this link.