I was commissioned at the end of 2012 to come up with an Olympic themed design which I then painted onto a ready-made fibre glass gorilla sculpture that stood approximately two and a half feet tall. This was one of the 'surplus' sculptures (available for schools) left over from the WOW!Gorilla art trail and auction event in Bristol, UK during the summer and autumn of 2011. The sculptures painted for the actual art trail and auction stood approximately five feet high)
My design was to reflect the medal success of Team GB at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 and so the colours I chose were bronze, silver and gold. Emerging from these colours were a dozen of the official 2012 sport pictograms that team GB won a medal in and the colour of the pictogram reflected the colour, or one of the colours, of medal that they won in that sport event.
Named 'Maximus' the finished gorilla was part of an auction at a special Gala Evening event organised by, and held at Bristol Zoo Gardens, to raise funds for their wildlife conservation projects that are ongoing around the world. He was the 'secret lot' unveiled during the auction.
I am told Maximus was the most sought after lot and raised a whopping £5,200. I am so pleased and proud that he did so well and raised so much.
