The Derby Ram stands proudly at a major junction of pedestrian streets within the City's central shopping area.

The plaque in front of this artwork tells us that it was 'gifted to the people of Derby by Richardson Cordwell 15 March 1995'. 

Richardson Cordwell are property developers, and the Ram sculpture was part of their shopping-based redevelopment and property refurbishment scheme at Albion Street and East Street. It is a very rare example in Derby to date of developers making a 'percent for art' contribution when major development is carried out.

Our commentary is provided by Urban Design Consultant Peter Leeson.

'The Ram - the symbol of Derby - captures the city's determination, its will to resist, to take a stand and if necessary to fight back - what a good and correct theme for public art in a proud city. That's how I remember feeling as I walked through Derby on my return to work in the city some two and a half years ago. 

Granted my attention was diverted by other new sights along the route from the Railway Station to my destination in Queen Street and I was walking in the company of a man, a stranger, with whom I had just struck up a conversation, after asking directions. He told me quietly of a thirty-year career in railway research, one of Derby's famous and enduring industries.

That was the context in which I remembered the sculpture. I thought of it, sub-consciously, as made of stone - a single boulder - symbol of self and of timeless nature and set in the heart of the city. 

Recently I went back and looked more closely at the Ram. It is much larger than life and is therefore monumental but it isn't made of one piece. It consists of several large chunks, conspicuously joined - a symbol perhaps of a potentially divided city, cemented together?

Rather than proud defiance, the beast confronts walkers passing from west to east with an expression of knowing mischief. In fact it turns its back contemptuously on pedestrians unfortunate, or foolish enough to approach from the east!

A sphinx-like posture shows off its curves in a side view and the folds and furrows in its fleece that suggest hidden complications.

Clearly the sculptor had his own agenda, as sculptors must, that was different from my more innocent, unobservant, first impressions. But of course art does not need to feed our everyday expectations.

What I wonder are the thoughts and verdicts of local people who have known and identified with the city through the 'best and worst of times' on this representation of their symbol.'

The Derby Public Art Strategy sets the scene for future public artworks in the city.