Sculptor leaves heads on doorsteps

WAKEFIELD, West Yorkshire - A reclusive sculptor said to shun publicity was revealed yesterday as the man behind the 19 mysterious carved stone heads on doorsteps across northern England.

Billy Johnson, who does not own a telephone or a television, is thought to be unaware that he has been identified as the source of the works, left at night in villages throughout North, West and South Yorkshire.

Bemused recipients have found at least 19 heads, each bearing a cryptic symbol spelling out the word “paradox” and a rhyming couplet, usually “Twinkle, twinkle like a star. Does love flourish from afar?” Mr Johnson, 43, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is said to have delivered as many as 57 heads, beginning in late August, to a series of apparently random addresses including private homes, a post office and a hotel.

A friend, Judy Alston, said the artist was curious to see the reactions of those who received his art works.

“He is not interested in publicity and he’ll be shocked that this has generated so much interest,” she said.