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    

Interesting open air photographic display at London Bridge City organised by the United Nations Refugee Agency UK (UNHRC-UK) highlighting community projects that have welcomed refugees to the UK. It was a small selection of photographs on four display stands highlighting initiatives from a community choir in Greenwich, through a walking group on the South Downs and a wall climbing club in Liverpool. The web site has other moving stories of other groups and the effect they have had on peoples’ lives. An interesting read while having a wander in the area. Closed 9 November 2023 Project website  

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