Meet the new wild visitor from Bristol Zoo this July.

A life-size artworked gorilla sculpture moves to its new home at Arnos Vale Cemetery on 5^th July, where it will stay throughout the summer, greeting visitors to the cemetery’s exhibitions, cafe and a programme of wildlife-themed family events.

Bristol Blue Glass have generously sponsored the Arnos Vale gorilla sculpture as part of the Wow! Gorillas trail, an eye-catching summer event where c.60 lifesize gorilla sculptures appear across the city to mark Bristol Zoo’s 175th anniversary. Arnos Vale cemetery is one of 60 gorilla venues blazing the trail across the city. The gorilla will appear on the terrace outside the Spielman Centre at Arnos Vale Cemetery, the 45-acre site’s main visitor facilities.

Chief Executive of Arnos Vale Cemetery, Juliette Randall, said: “Getting a gorilla is great news for Arnos Vale.  We have at  least a dozen of the original zoo shareholders buried here so this puts us at the heart of Bristol Zoo’s 175th Anniversary celebrations. We are delighted to be working in partnership with our local neighbours, Bristol Blue Glass and as part of the Wow! Trail we are really excited about  welcoming so many new visitors to Arnos Vale, Bristol’s best kept secret”. 

The artwork has been designed by Bath-based artist Jane Veveris Callan, who has done a number of animal sculpture projects in the past. “I was looking for an interesting local angle and bringing lots of themes together when I came up with the design, “Blackbeard, Silverback” which was inspired by Bristol’s past. The original paint colour was chosen in honour of Bristol Blue Glass, as part of the heritage of Bristol. When I knew my design was actually going to be sponsored by Bristol Blue Glass, I painted a glass bottle into the design in their honour!”

As for her gorilla ending up at Arnos Vale cemetery, Jane said: “I think it’s absolutely brilliant – that’s why I keep being involved in these projects. They’re so fantastic for families and it’s great to see visitors coming on the trail and ticking places off their list. Arnos Vale is a really interesting place to put a public sculpture.”

Dr Bryan Carroll, Director of Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “We hope these colourful sculptures will be enjoyed by thousands of Bristolians and visitors to the city over the summer.”

Arnos Vale will be planning a launch event with Bristol Blue for when the gorilla arrives and running a number of events through the summer to mark the gorilla’s stay at Arnos Vale – including several competitions to name the Arnos Gorilla and to colour in a suitable playmate for it. The celebrations will culminate in the “Gurrillustrations” family art event with artist Simon Gurr on 30th July. 

Children's Gorilla Colouring Competition - closing date 26th July

Name a Gorilla Friend Competition - closing date 26th July

Gurrillustrations with Artiste Simon Gurr - art workshops available for families and a separate session just for teens

Bristol Zoo Gardens - Bristol Zoo Gardens is a conservation and education charity and relies on income from visitors and supporters to continue its important work. This year Bristol Zoo celebrates its 175^th anniversary and wants to do more than celebrate. Over that past 175 years, the Zoo has brought six generations of Bristolians closer to wildlife, helped save over 175 species from extinction, established over 30 field conservation and research programmes all over the world, showed 40 million school aged children the wonder of nature and given more than 90 million visitors a wonderful day out.

Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas’ project - The highlight of Bristol Zoo’s 175^th anniversary year will see dozens of life-size gorilla sculptures placed on the streets of greater Bristol in a mass public art trail for 10 weeks from July 4^th 2011. Bristol Zoo’s gorilla sculptures have been created by Wild in Art, which promotes art through the use of unique animal sculptures as three dimensional artist’s canvas. The gorilla sculptures have each been individually painted by local artists.

Visit the Zoo website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/wow-gorillas to find out more.

Meet the Artist: Jane Veveris Callan

Jane has been an artist for over 25 years having completed a BA Honors degree in Fine Art at Loughborough College of Art & Design, then gained a postgraduate diploma in Printmaking from Wimbledon School of Art. In 2008 she was a commissioned Artist for the King Bladud's Pigs in Bath Public Art Project and was also a member of the organising team. Jane was one of the artists selected for the Wow! Gorillas Bristol Zoo project, and is currently working as a guest artist and organiser for Art at the Edge, a sports themed Public Sculpture Project for 2012.

You can find out about how the gorilla painting progressed at Jane’s blog: www.janeveveriscallan.co.uk/blog-1