I’m excited to announce that I have started work on my latest project for ‘Go Wild Gorillas’!
Durrell Wildlife Conservation is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. To mark these incredible years of conservation work achieved both at Jersey Zoo and in the wild all around the globe, ‘Go Wild Gorillas’, in partnership with ‘Wild in Art’ and ‘Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust’ will be delivering a sculpture trail across Jersey in the Channel Islands.
The inspiration for this art trail is the incredible species, the Western Lowland Gorilla. The trail marks the launch of fundraising towards the development of a newly extended and redeveloped gorilla house for the gorilla family at Jersey Zoo. Western Lowland Gorillas are under threat in the wild due to the loss of habitat, hunting and wildlife trade and infectious disease. Jersey Zoo has been caring for a gorilla family for almost 60 years. I have been visiting the changing gorilla family at Jersey Zoo along with my family since I was born. I have spent hours watching all three of the incredible silverback male gorillas that have been resident at the zoo, as well as the many female gorillas and their offspring. I also follow the progress of the gorillas once they are moved to other zoos. I have a strong affinity to Jersey zoo and its beautiful animals and I follow the various conservation projects around the world. As such, I feel extremely honoured to be working for such an incredible project – It’s a unique opportunity!
The gorilla sculptures function as 3D blank canvasses and artists were required to submit designs for consideration by the various sponsors and commissioners. My design is sponsored by ‘Ronez’, the principal quarrying company operating from a site in St John’s Jersey, as well as in Guernsey. Whilst I cannot give details about my design, it is fair to say that my inspiration is inextricably linked with both Jersey’s beautiful coastline and with the work undertaken by the sponsor. I will be updating my twitter account ‘@AmyBourbon’ on a regular basis, documenting my paint experiments, photographs of sections of my gorilla during production and any related experiences of my time painting in Jersey for the ‘Go Wild Gorillas’ project. I will also be visiting the Ronez quarry to gain first hand knowledge of my design influence and to learn more about the quarry itself. There are also endangered choughs nesting at the quarry. These birds were reintroduced to the wild as a result of one of Jersey Zoo’s incredible conservation projects.
The completed gorilla sculptures will be part of an innovative art trail around the town centre, parks, open spaces and parishes around Jersey. The trail aims to contribute to the economic, cultural and social life of the Island. The trail will be live from the 29th July and available to see until 14th October 2019 culminating in a ‘Grand Gorilla Auction’ in November.
Watch this space for updates and images!
amy bourbon 