World’s tallest moving statue created by local man

The world's tallest moving statue, 'The Giant', stands 54 foot high and is the brainchild of Westmeath man Paddy Dunning, who also owns Grouse Lodge Studios in Rosemount.

A prototype of 'The Giant's' LED digital head was on display before Christmas at the Central Plaza in Dublin city centre which was open to the public for three months in late 2023.

Paddy is also the man behind Giant Company Attractions Limited in Dublin, and recently announced a partnership to develop the world’s first Giant Visitor Attraction called 'The Giant at American Dream' in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the second largest mall in the US. The American Dream Mall is home to leading attractions, including DreamWorks Water Park, Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park, LEGOLAND Discovery Center and SEA LIFE Aquarium.

Mr Dunning said the Dublin exhibition was a “great success” scanning visitors for the first time ever before screening their image onto the four metre head of 'The Giant.' Their full profile is scanned in a state-of-the-art volumetric scanning theatre and their images are displayed on the giant statue resulting in the portrait of a lifetime and an amazing selfie. As the visitor is scanned a holographic avatar, an exact representation of the visitor, is generated.

Mr Dunning explained that visitors to the attraction “will be able to immerse themselves into virtual worlds” and play football and gaming and whatever that whole world offers.

There are many forms of virtual reality already in use but this is the first time that people will be able to obtain a full body scan of their profile. This three-dimensional hologram is displayed and manipulated through the visitor's smartphone and can transport them to a range of engaging augmented and virtual reality environments and experiences. Virtual reality is a simulated 3D environment that enables users to explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that creates reality and augmented reality is an interactive experience that enhances the real world with computer-generated information.

The idea for 'The Giant' stemmed from Mr Dunning's interest in how the book Gulliver's Travels was written by author Jonathan Swift who often stayed at Belvedere House in Mullingar. He then designed a giant statue for Belvedere made out of large wood, copper and stained glass and had the idea to create a giant for all the big cities in the world as a homage to all the giants of music, art and writing. “That then sent me on the quest to develop the technology that we've created today, which allows the statue to talk, move, and recite poems,” Mr Dunning told the Westmeath Independent, adding that the giant statues can cost anything from €5 million to €30 million depending on the size and height.

'The Giant' will open at the American Dream Mall in January 2025, standing at 16.5 meters high (54 feet) or five storeys high. It's an androgynous anthropomorphic (humanlike inanimate object) shaped statue with a skin of custom created LEDs, and its arms and head move to a diversity of positions. Using patented LED and scanning technologies, 'The Giant' comes to life displaying any person from celebrities and historical figures to visitors to the attraction.

Every hour 'The Giant' will put on a show for visitors to the shopping mall. The statue will transform into an extraordinary person including, historical figures, contemporary stars, artists, celebrities, sports heroes, inventors, scientists and humanitarians. In addition to its ability to morph into any person, its arms and head move and it speaks, sings, and recites lines of verse and prose.

“Every hour it (the giant) puts on show. So for instance, say it's the birthday of or anniversary of John Lennon it'll be turning into John Lennon.”

The technology for 'The Giant' was developed with Enterprise Ireland who have given the new creation their stamp of approval and called it 'a high potential startup.'

For every scan of a visitor to 'The Giant' attraction a tree is planted locally and Mr Dunning revealed that 4,500 native Irish trees have been planted in Westmeath to date. “The whole idea of this statue is to awaken the giants and kind of give a commitment to help save this beautiful planet or make a change in your local neighbourhood.”

Looking to the future, Mr Dunning is “excited” about building a family of giants all around the world and representing Ireland globally by being the first to create this new technology. “We want to use it positively to promote positive messages of peace, harmony and sustainability," he said.

“They tell the story about that country, all the giants of that country so each one would be different so if you go to the one in Barcelona or if you go to the one in Mexico or Korea, 'The Giant' basically talks about the great giants of that country.”

“It's a great tourism boost so all of the independent studies that have taken place have said this is a fantastic addition to any major super city. We'll change the skyline and there'll be many benefits.”

There has been huge interest in 'The Giant' to date globally and the owner of The Giant Company Attractions Limited also has plans to introduce a touring statue to go to the Olympics or Formula One of big cultural event. The giant statue can also be used for advertising newly released products, movies or TV series or fashion.

To find out more about 'The Giant' visit www.thegiantcompany.ie.

The exhibition at the Central Plaza in Dublin is currently available for private tours.