There is a new face at the airport, guarding the gateway to the Isle of Man and keeping his one good eye on the new visitors.

An imposing metal sculpture of the Norse god Odin has been installed in the upstairs area of Ronaldsway Airport.

Standing at more than six foot tall and weighting in at slightly more than the average Viking warrior, the statue has been created by artist John Allcote, through his JOKA studios, at his home in Port St Mary.

The sculpture has been entirely crafted out of bits of scrap metal, including oil drums, chimney coverings, tankards and scrap lengths of chain, with a huge raven being created out of old cutlery. It has taken John, a self-taught artist, the best part of three months to complete.

He has put the statue on display for the summer at the airport and hopes that it will act as a welcoming, if not slightly fearful sight for new visitors.

’The idea with it being on display in the airport is that Odin will greet you on the way in and give you his blessings as you leave,’ said John.

’He is here to guard the doors of Mann.

’I made the background into the doors to give the impression he is standing guard over the island, with the sword of Mann in front of him.

’It is made out of oil drums, copper flue canopy and other pieces of scrap.

’Huginn, the bird on his shoulder, is made out of spoons and fork handles.

’The hair is chain, the beard is lengths of old motorcycle chain and I used a piece of real chain mail for the decoration.’

The sculpture came about after John was commissioned to make a smaller Viking bust.

’It initially started off as a sculpture of just the head and shoulders of a Viking. I was asked by a lady in Peel.

When I finished it, she said "That’s way too big!"

’But I liked it by then, so I just carried on and made the rest of the body, designing it myself as I went along.

’I made the frame out of scaffolding poles, making sure it wouldn’t collapse. It weighs a ton though. It was also a bit taller, but I had to remove about four inches of the legs just to get him out of my cellar.’

John hopes to find a more fitting home for the statue in time, and has already resisted big money offers to sell it.

’This is on loan for a little while but hopefully I can get it on display somewhere else permanently. I would like it to go into Peel, as I reckon Odin would be happy there.

’I’ve had offers to sell it across, but I want it to stay in the Isle of Man.

’It’s not the money for me. ’It’s the joy of making it and if people of the island get joy out of seeing my creations then that’s the biggest thing for me.’

More of John’s work can be seen on his JOKA workshop Facebook page.