Arts and Culture Features

The life-size sheep made entirely from soap was created by Stephen Davies.

Stephen, 45, explained that the work was inspired by his native country: "It came from my identity as a New Zealander. Sheep are very much part of our culture."

Seeing some New Zealand lamb in a supermarket freezer, combined with New Zealand's tourism image as a clean, unspoilt environment, led him to develop the idea of the sheep made of soap.

It took him a month to complete the work named 'Flock'. The one full-size sheep was based on a plastic toy model and weighs 35 kg and was made using a special 'melt and pour' type of soap.

It's the culmination of a year long Masters degree course at Winchester School of Art.

The soap sheep

Stephen has been studying in Winchester for the past year and says the South Coast has proved productive from an artists point of view: "It's a great part of the world - the light is very different. I've really enjoyed my time here."

As for the sheep, they may be jet setting back to Auckland in New Zealand with Stephen: "If I don't sell them, I guess I'll be taking them home!"

The Winchester School of Art degree show showcased the students' fashion design, print, painting, sculpture, textile and fine art works.