Over the last few weeks I've spent some of my free time in collaboration with four other artists in the creation of an elephant sculpture for the Go Elephants! Art Trail in Norwich this summer...
After meetings to discuss ideas and then agree the resources and materials needed, we then began to construct and paint it in stages, each giving of our time and skills as best suited a collective objective. Finally today, with some hard work and a little chuckle or two along the way, we finished our surreal creation.Initially, ideas revolved around treks and trails, finally consolidating on portraying three distinct types of traveller amid a blue sky reminiscent of Rene Magritte: the soldier/pilot (Biggles), the adventurer/explorer (Phileas Fogg) and the glamourous lady traveller (I named her Lauren of Arabia, she has a little of the old Hollywood glamour).This art event plans to turn the public spaces of Norwich into an urban savannah with herds of decorated elephants on safari. Each elephant on the trail has been decorated by commissioned artists or community art groups, creating an outdoor art exhibition to showcase the creativity of the East Anglian region.The majority of the elephants will later be sold at auction, and 75% of the net auction proceeds will be donated to the Born Free Foundation and the CLIC Sargent charity. Go Elephants! runs from 23 June - 31 August 2008. I will post more details about the artists involved when it finally goes on public display in June, but you can read more about the Go Elephants!...