If you are quick you will get a chance to see some large public scultures by Gillie and Marc which are dotted around London
Wild Table of Love
Current Exhibition (July 2023 – July 2026)
Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington, London
This is right by the exit of the Elizabeth line at paddington and as can be seen by the polished spare seats there have been many visitors getting a selfie. It’s a great introduction to Gillie and Marc. The bronze animals sit at a huge banquet table, adorned with some of the most delectable foods imaginable. Their guests; six of the worlds most endangered animals. Rabbitwoman and Dogman have opened their table to the animals in a symbol of love and support, welcoming them into their family and promising to protect them in every way they can. But this sculpture is not just to be looked at, it is an interactive experience as on the seat you get up close to the statues.
Across town, ok just a couple of stops on the Elizabeth line are The Orphans at Spitalfields market. Gillie and Marc have created this monumental sculpture installation titled The Orphans, featuring 20 bronze elephant calves running towards a 3-metre-tall mother, representing the mother the babies have lost. The mother’s tusks have been painted a deep blue to draw attention to all the issues of elephant endangerment and to make people reconsider what tusks are now and what they will be in the future. This installation is a reminder of the orphans who are left behind because of human selfishness and serves as a vessel to raise critical awareness and funds to save elephants before it’s too late.
Each sculptured baby symbolises a real orphaned elephant in the care of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, that the artists sketched on a trip to Kenya. The best part is, you can adopt them by heading over to their website; www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
At Spitalfields they are spread about on the northern side of the Market and down Brushfield street. The baby elephants are approximately the size of a small size and each one has a plaque telling you a bit about the baby that the sculpture is based upon.
A longer trail is along the Kings Road and you can get hop on a bus for the odd stop between a couple of them! You had better hurry as it ends on Friday 30th August, but maybe they will pop up elsewhere in London. Commencing just after the Saatchi gallery is a wonderful bicycle with 11 seats (again a spare one for selfies) with the usual suspects on board. Entitled ‘They Were on a Wild Ride to a Safer Place with Rabbitwoman and Dogman’ this is a large (and interactive!) sculpture. Further down kings Road you will see a Rhino playing chess with Dogman, an interesting pair of paparazzi and nearby a hippo and Rabbitwoman enjoying tea outside the Everyman.
Further afield a bear makes a big splash outside Harrods look for a turtle and friend by the Lanesborough and also a massive gorilla baby and others in Paternoster square. The Paternoster Sqaure exhibits allow the public to climb, play, touch, cuddle, and get up close and personal with the beautiful animal sculptures so that they can imagine what would be like to be with and experience these endangered species. All of the sculptures have a QR code which can be scanned to learn more about the animals in their real natural habitats, why animal conservation is so important and how diverse wildlife is. The ‘Wild About Babies’ installation will run until January 2025.
