No more monkeying around! With just over a month to go until the Go Wild Gorilla trail opens we checked in with artist Maria Tarrant to see how Sure’s gorilla is coming along.
“My gorilla is now complete and I’m really pleased with it. I’ve been working on it on and off for about 2 months now - some days just an hour or two - other days it felt like it was dawn to dusk.
“It’s been a truly fantastic experience and I can’t wait until the trail is open so the gorillas can be enjoyed by the whole island. I have seen a few other designs and I am amazed at the strength and diversity of the project, given every artist started with the same building block [a blank gorilla]. It’s incredible.
“I’ve found the whole process very rewarding, but it wasn’t without its trials. The drawing and painting took the longest time as I had to add and improve on the initial design and the planning process was quite intense. It is always a challenge for an artist to come up with a concept and then plan how to actually translate that into a piece of art.
“Overall I found the actual drawing phase the most interesting part of the process as I could follow the original design but also add in new ideas - it’s always good to see something take shape and develop in front of your eyes.
“Now that I have finished the gorilla I shall be looking at a design for Sure’s shop window and also I will be running an art workshop with Sure - both of which will provide a great end to the Go Wild Gorilla project.”
The Go Wild Gorillas Trail starts on Saturday 27 July and runs until Monday 14 October. The trail will see 40 brightly decorated life-sized gorilla sculptures form a path around the island.
To find out more head to: www.gowildgorillas.org
