Gorillas in the midst of Exeter's City Centre
Yesterday (Saturday 3 August) saw the arrival of a rather unusual breed of tourist to the streets, parks and open spaces of Exeter. Welcomed by young and old alike, 11 life-sized gorilla sculptures have taken up residence around the City of Exeter as part of the Great Gorillas Project - an art trail created to help celebrate Paignton Zoo's 90th Birthday as well as raise funds and awareness for the Zoo's vital conservation work spanning the globe.
These 11 cheeky characters, along with 19 others located throughout the English Riviera, will play an instrumental role in efforts to help save Cross River gorillas from extinction. Once thought to be extinct, this unique subspecies of gorilla ‘resurfaced’ in the 1980s and is found only along the southern section of the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Fewer than 300 Cross Rivera gorillas remain in the wild and it is the most endangered African ape, ranking among the world's 25 most endangered primate species. Illegal hunting for bushmeat and habitat loss threaten the future of Cross River gorillas.
So what are you waiting for, follow the Great Gorillas Trail to meet Exeter's unique and colourful visitors as well as discovering parts of the city you don't normally venture into… I know I certainly found a surprise or two in store at the Harlequins Centre.
Darth Vader
Artist: Mandii Pope
Location: 'Harlequins Shopping Centre, Exeter'
Sponsored by Cavanna Homes
When artist Mandii Pope was searching Google for famous personalities from Exeter, she stumbled across Eddie Izzard and started thinking about different roles he might have played that she could turn into a gorilla. From there, she remembered a YouTube video featuring his voice as Darth Vader. When the artist made her Big Ben BT ArtBox people seemed to love the recognisable icon, so by choosing Darth Vader as her Gorilla the likeability factor should be widespread when it is time for auction.
Mandii has close links with many charities often donating works to fundraise for various causes around the globe including 'Hospices for Hope', A Hospice in Brasov Romania, Cancer fundraisers, Grief Support, Stem cell treatment and Autism. Most recently she has been involed with Expat Earthquake fundraising events for loved ones back in Christchurch, New Zealand, a Bagpuss design for the Virgin London Marathon and a 15ft Big Ben BT Artbox for Childline’s 25th Anniversary and Live Art of Buckingham Palace for the King Edward VII Sister Agnes Hospital.
www.mandiipope.com
Cool Ice Cream Bananas
Artist: Malcolm Law
Location: Roman Walk
Sponsored by Princesshay
Artist Malcolm Law decided that the whole project was ‘fun’, so he worked on ideas that fitted with this concept. It is unlikely that gorillas would be seen on the English Riviera (Paignton Zoo excepted) and if they were they would be on holiday and savour ice cream and prefer bananas to chocolate. This solution stood out and was taken through to the finished proposal. It if makes people laugh then the artist will have succeeded. Malcolm has worked in Torbay for the last 25 years. His ceramics are mainly three dimensional illustration worked in a stoneware clay and finished with underglaze colours. Subject matter is invariably humorous sourced from history or mythology and often including anachronistic objects. He is a member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. His work can be seen at various galleries in the Westcountry including the Devon Guild of Craftsmen and Cotehele gallery. www.malcolmlaw.co.uk
Ubuntu
Artists: Lucy Rockliffe and Jess Carvill
Location: Guildhall Shopping Centre
Sponsored by Guildhall Shopping Centre
Dubbed the People’s Gorilla, Ubuntu is named after a South African Bantu word for a friendly and open person, and also describes the South African philosophy or worldview that Ubuntu (the essence of being human) speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness; you can't be human all by yourself. Ubuntu has a unique twist, in that schoolchildren and members of groups in and around Exeter were invited to submit their own designs and drawings of gorillas. All the entries were then reduced down to a uniform size and used to decorate Ubuntu. The end result is a truly community effort.
The artists who decorated Ubuntu with decoupage are Lucy Rockliffe and Jess Carvill who are part of Artstorm Project, a group of artists working together to build and strengthen communities through art. Lucy and Jess both specialise in sculpture, ceramics, mosaic murals and printmaking. The collaboration specifically runs projects which help to involve communities in the creation of large scale artworks. Recent projects include ‘Tree of Life’ at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.
Bananarilla
Artist: Miss*C
Location: Exeter Bus Station
Sponsored by Stagecoach South West
Albeit perhaps obvious symbolism for The Great Gorillas Project, the banana has been one of the most iconic images in contemporary art and music. When asked why he used a banana and its meaning, Andy Warhol is said to have replied, “It doesn’t have a meaning – it’s a banana!”
Miss*C is an urban community artist who divides her time creating her own work and teaching others. Born in London, Miss*C has spent the last six years teaching graffiti techniques and facilitating therapeutic arts workshops in a wide range of settings and locations in the UK and Europe.
www.graffitiacademy.com
Mr Bumble
Artist: Nathan Smith
Location: 'Exeter Cathedral, Exeter'
Sponsored by Frobishers Juices
Mr Bumble is more than your average five-a-day guy. He is so fond of fruit he wears it on his suit. His favourites are black and red berries. Watch out, he may blow you a raspberry!
Nathan Smith has been working as an artist for over 20 years and has been involved in numerous public and community art projects. He has worked in media as diverse as theatre design to
arts consultancy.
www.nathansmithartist.com
Takamanda
Artists: Designed by Meriel Royal and created by Jelly Artist
Location: The Forum, University of Exeter, Exeter'
Sponsored by University of Exeter
University of Exeter students were set the task of designing their very own Great Gorilla. The winning design was Meriel Royal’s globetrotter, inspired by the idea of the gorilla making stops around the world and collecting the stamps of other endangered animals before arriving in Devon.
Jelly Artist lives and works in Devon. Painting from life and imagination, he is best known for subtly surreal landscapes that are rich with vegetation and often contain architectural fragments. Jelly is an honorary member of the SW Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, has exhibited widely and has work in collections at home and abroad.
www.jellyfineart.co.uk
Skins
Artist: Jessica Miller
Location: Bottom of Stepcote hill, Exeter
Sponsored by ATASS Group
This gorilla features the skins and faces of various animals including leopard, zebra, jaguar and elephant. They represent the diversity of wildlife and show how it’s not only gorillas we should be fighting to protect, but many other animals also.
Jessica Miller is a self-taught painter mostly specialising in wildlife portraits and scenery. She currently volunteers at Paignton Zoo and uses the animals there as inspiration for her work, as well as using photographs from other zoos she has had the chance to visit.
Sora
Artists: Jessie Cheng and Harry Downward
Location: The Quay, Exeter
Sponsored by Exeter College
Sora won a design competition in the college. Jessie used her love of natural images to come up with an intertwining leaf design, while Harry was inspired by his bedroom wallpaper! Sora is Japanese for sky and suits the gradient colour and whole. Artists Jessie Cheng, 17, is from Newton Abbot and Harry Downward, 17, is from Bradninch. Both are Level 1 Art, Design and Media students at Exeter College.
X-Ray Ape
Artists: Sue Misselbrook & Dave Ellacott
Location: Queen Street, Exeter (near the Clock Tower)
Sponsored by Paignton Zoo
This is the winning design in the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust staff competition. The idea is by Reserves Warden Dave Ellacott and brought to life by Paignton Zoo’s graphic artist, Sue Misselbrook. Dave has always been fascinated by x-rays of his own broken bones, so perhaps that was in the back of his mind when he submitted his entry!
It's Dave's job to look after the Primley and Clennon Gorge nature reserves close by Paignton Zoo; at various times he can be found chain-sawing, mowing, coppicing, putting up nest boxes or working with school groups. He has been in the post for 12 years and loves it. But what about art?
“While I can’t draw anything more complicated than stick men, I do like to make stuff. I do basic leather work - watch straps, wrist bands and so on – and I like to construct rustic wooden furniture using scrap wood or locally-sourced timber. The more I use unwanted materials the better - people call it up-cycling, but I just see it as basic common sense!”
Sue Misselbrook was trained in Practical Art Work for two years at art school, in Cambridge. She then undertook three years further education training at Dartington College of Art and Rolle College before qualifying as an art specialist teacher for middle schools.
Sue went on to teach Art in secondary school for five years and to work as a ‘housemother’ at Dartington Hall School, for nine years. It was following this period of time in education that Sue came to Paignton Zoo to cover a member of staff’s maternity leave. That was over 25 years ago… and she has never left!
Not So Different
Artist: Danny Kidd
Location: 'Southernhay Green, Exeter'
Sponsored by Cathedral Financial Management Ltd
This design is by a local tattoo artist who enjoys black work and patterns that flow fluently. Knowing and tattooing the form Head of Primates at Paignton Zoo, the artist wanted to do a design that represented tattooing and gorillas – the two things that he really enjoys; and so he came up with this design.
Danny has worked at Revolver Tattoo Rooms for 6 years. He enjoys customising designs for customers and creating his own unique artwork as a hobby.
Miss Prints
Artist: Penny Robson
Location: Harlequins Shopping Centre, Exeter
Sponsored by Harlequins Shopping Centre
Artist Penny Robson has been fascinated by the texture, colour and patterns of animal skins ever since she visited the zoo as a child and was given a skin shed by a snake. The prints, fur and feathers selected for the design are all on the IUCN Endangered Species list. She hopes people will enjoy trying to guess which animal they represent.
Penny has been involved in a variety of community art projects. In 2007 her ‘Tree of Life’ project with TCC won the ‘Trail’ Scrap Art Challenge award. She has exhibited with the Society of Botanical Artists and was awarded a silver medal by the RHS. She is a member of the Wildlife Art Society International and has exhibited at Nature in Art and at Paignton Zoo. Commissioned work includes Swansea City Council, Leisure Painter magazine, Macmillan Education, the Field Studies Council and Sutton Seeds.
www.pennyrobsonartist.co.uk
Is it possible to get around the city and meet all 11 gorillas in one go? Well theoretically yes, but maybe not with a four-year-old and seven-year-old in tow (we managed to get to seven of the 11). But fear not, because you have the entire summer to get to know them.
The Great Gorillas will be in situ from Saturday 3 August until Sunday 13 October 2013. They will then be at Paignton Zoo from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th October 2013 before being auctioned for charity on Wednesday 6 November 2013.
For more information about the Great Gorillas Trail visit http://www.greatgorillas.org.uk/about-great-gorillas/trail or click here to find out how to make a donation to the project.
