Cathy's Art Diary

Delightful sculpture trail around London Bridge City of works by Gillie and Marc Art. The trail features wild animals interacting with their trademark figures of Dogman and Rabbitwoman from a rhino playing chess to a gorilla photographer. I’ve seen a few Gillie and Marc trails now and they are always fun. The trail is part of the broader ‘Love The Last’ project, a social movement driven by public art to raise awareness, funds and support for endangered animals across the world. This one is organised in conjunction with Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It’s on for a long time so do pop along and see it. There are two more works to appear in November. Closes 18 September 2024    

Fun but purposeful installation in Paternoster Square by Gillie and Marc. Gillie and Marc do fun public sculptures with an environmental message and this latest one has been in situ since June last year but this was the first time I had been in the area to see it. It consists of a group of animals sitting around a table for a meal   with two seats free for you to sit down and join them. A QR code links you to more information about the animals and their conservation. I was so enthralled by the detail, the vistas through the work and how it looked against the surrounding architecture I forgot to take a view of the whole piece. I loved the fact the gorilla has a birthday cake. No end date given.  

Disappointing sculpture trail round London Bridge City of chimpanzees by Gillie and Marc. I’d see Gillie and Marc’s elephants last year and loved them so I was excited to see there were new works in London. I say disappointing as they are made of fibreglass which had been damaged by children climbing on them so many are now surrounded with barriers. It made them look like they are in a zoo which I guess wasn’t the point. You couldn’t see the works properly and it made them look cheap. There were interesting labels telling you about each sculpture and it was good to read about some of their behaviour patterns. However a lot of labels were held on with gaffer tape which made them hard to read. The works themselves are interesting but crudely finished. It is a great idea but poorly presented. Closes 22 October 2022  

Delightful outdoor public installation in Spitalfields Market of a mother and a herd of baby elephants. Organised by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust they aim to highlight the plight of elephants in East Africa and each of the baby elephants represents an orphan the trust have helped. Each one has a plaque next to it telling its story. I gather the elephants had moved to Spitalfields recently having been in St James’ Park. The sculptures themselves are by artists Gillie and Marc and are shown with a couple of their earlier works which I have seen around London before. A really nice addition to the public space with a story to tell.