Coathanger-made sculpture of Christ goes on show in Edinburgh

A huge crucifixion figure of Christ made out of 3,000 coathangers has gone on display outside St Giles' Cathedral on Edinburgh's Royal Mile as its author, one of Scotland’s most successful sculptors, David Mach, has unveiled his first “religious” work.

The statue is part of a project to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

David Mach is quoted as saying that he had not become religious, despite the inspiration for his latest work. He said his work around the King James Bible was inspired by how the Bible still communicated its messages to millions of people, and had done for centuries. Mach said biblical imagery was a fine way to explore the hypocrisies of the contemporary world.

"The King James Bible communicated its message so effectively that its language still resonates through our speech to this day,” David Mach said. "Today we live in an age of sophisticated mass communication and yet we still have wars, famine and bigotry. To me that represents a failure of communication."