From Bristol to Barbados… Wow! Gorillas settle into new homes! 13/10/11

The popular, life-size gorilla sculptures that brightened up the streets of Greater Bristol this summer are settling into new homes across the city and beyond.

All 61 Wow! Gorillas have been re-homed in a host of locations and some can be seen around the city, whereas others have been re-homed privately. Funky Gibbon will be making the longest journey after being bought by a family for their new home in Barbados!

Bristol Zoo Gardens auctioned the gorillas two weeks ago, raising an incredible £427,300 for the Zoo’s gorilla projects and Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal which is raising funds for the cardiology unit at Bristol Children’s Hospital.

The Wow! Gorilla entitled ‘Elvis’ was bought by car body repair specialist, Dent Magic, to go outside their workshop in the Paintworks on Bath Road.

Jamie Carroll who owns the business with Richard French, said: “Elvis looks really great and we are really happy to have him here. People have already started coming to see him and it will be nice when he is mounted on his plinth outside the workshop for everyone to see.”

Gorisambard, which sold at auction for £23,000, was bought by a family for their home in Backwell, but they are hoping to loan Gorisambard back to the Clifton Suspension Bridge in future. His new owner said: “We are very pleased to welcome him to our home and we are delighted to be able to help raise money for two very good causes. We are also investigating the possibility of Gorisambard making appearances around the city in the coming months.”

Splodge was bought by serviced apartment company, SACO, and will be based outside their office on Whiteladies Road where the public will be able to see him later this year. In the meantime, he will be visiting all the offices and serviced apartments that SACO own around the UK in the coming few months.

SACO CEO Lesley Freed says: “As a Bristol company SACO is delighted to have been able to support these local charities who do so much work.”

Kingdom and Tensor are now at their new homes after being bought by Manor Scrap Company Ltd. Tensor is at their depot on Feeder Road and Kingdom is at their branch in Jubille Street, St Phillips, on the roof of the office overlooking the yard.

Super G Downhill racer was bought jointly by Bristol City Council, Destination Bristol and St Nicolas Market Traders to go back on display in St Nicolas’ market later this month.

Priscilla was bought by Ian and Rita Mathison for the garden of their home in Leigh Woods. Ian said: “I thought the Wow! Gorillas trail was so good for the people of Bristol as well as for tourists visiting the city and I was happy to be able to get involved and even happier when I won Priscilla. The auction was such a brilliant night and we are delighted to have Priscilla in our garden - it was a lovely surprise for our three grandchildren.”

Distinctly Different was bought by Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies for her new home in Bradford-upon-Avon. Endangered PJ’s was bought by Burges Salmon for its headquarters at One Glass Wharf in Temple Quay as part of the law firm's on-going commitment to supporting charitable causes within the communities it serves.

Noah was bought by Bristol businessman Ron Channon, and is currently on temporary display in the window of Golfplan Insurance, Sheene Road Bedminster, a company he started in 1984 and is today the largest specialist golf insurer in the UK.

He said: “I was born in Bristol and can still remember as a child seeing ‘Alfred’ the gorilla at Bristol Zoo sometime in the late 40s. I went to the auction with 11 different gorillas on my list, and was determined to acquire one of them, I was therefore delighted when the hammer came down on my only bid and in fact the very last bid of the evening for ‘Noah’ who was also the last Gorilla in the auction.”

He added: “As an ex pro photographer in the city for many years, I am passionate about wild life and have been on a number of safaris utilising my past photographic skills, so Noah, complete with all his hand painted animals is the perfect gorilla for me.

“I was amazed at the incredible interest and support that Bristol businesses gave to the Wow! Gorilla campaign, over £400,000 for those two great charities is just fantastic. I am very proud to have been part of such a worthwhile fundraising promotion.

“Noah is currently on temporary display at my company offices but will be re-homed on the lawns of a beautiful thatched cottage in mid-Devon where I plan to live in the New Year.”

Wow! Bristol will be in the office reception of Precision Profiles in Warmley, next to a scale model of an A380 Airbus plane from next Tuesday (approved). Another officed-based gorilla is 24 Carat Camo which was bought by Shayne Kidner of 2000 Television, for the office in Westbury Park.

City centre-based IT recruitment company, Recruit360 are the proud new owners of Alfred the Bristol City Football Club gorilla. Rich Hobbs, Managing Director of Recruit360 said: “Attending the auction and coming home with Alfred was fantastic and we are really pleased that we were able to help raise money for two such worthwhile causes. The Gorillas have given people so much enjoyment and we hope fans continue to enjoy Alfred when he makes his guest appearances.”

Going Gone Gorilla was bought by the University of Bristol for their new Life Sciences Department building on St Michael's Hill. Professor David Clarke, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, said: "We are very pleased to acquire this gorilla as part of our public art commitment to the city and to support this imaginative scheme.

“Our plan is to position the gorilla within the grounds of the new Life Sciences building or within the building foyer, which enhances our on-going commitment to public art as part of the development of the University's estate. When complete, the new building will represent a significant investment in maintaining our world-leading position for education and research and it is particularly exciting that we can include a work that has really engaged so many local people."

Old Man of the Forest is now living at a family home near Bristol Zoo, and Zoo Keeper has been bought by a couple for their home on the seafront in Clevedon. The gorilla called ‘Blue’ has found a new home in Frampton Cotterell and Ape Scape was bought by a family from Stoke Bishop for their back garden.

Earlier this week Bristol Zoo announced that there will be a new, 62^nd gorilla sculpture on show in the zoo grounds from next week. The Zoo is now asking Wow! Gorilla fans to vote for a name for the new arrival.

A shortlist of names, recommended by fans of the Wow Gorillas Facebook page, has been drawn up and people can vote for their favourites via Bristol Zoo’s website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/name-our-wow-gorilla. Voting closes at 12 noon on Monday (October 17, 2011).

At 11.30am next Tuesday October 18, Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and the artists who painted the gorilla will reveal the 62^nd Wow! Gorilla and announce its new name. 

Bristol Zoo is also holding a raffle offering the public the chance to win limited edition Wow! Gorillas prizes.

First prize is an unpainted, small gorilla, the same size as the schools’ gorillas. Second prize is a small piece of a Formula One Marussia Virgin racing car engine in a presentation display box. Third prize is a limited edition, small ceramic Wow! Gorilla, painted in the style of one of the 61 Wow! Gorilla designs.

Raffle tickets cost £1 each, available from Bristol Zoo until Friday October 28, when the winners will be drawn. Tickets are also available online at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/win-a-wow-gorilla

ENDS

For press enquiries please contact the Bristol Zoo Gardens press office:

Lucy King, T: 0117 974 7396, E: lking@bristolzoo.org.uk

Owain Cassidy, T:0117 974 7415 7 E: ocassidy@bristolzoo.org.uk

Notes to Editors

Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas’ project

·         Wow! Gorillas formed a mass public art trail across the streets of Greater Bristol this summer in celebration of Bristol Zoo’s 175^th birthday year.

·         Each of the gorilla sculptures was sponsored by organisations, businesses and charities from across the region, and decorated in their own unique style by talented local artists.

·         Bristol Zoo’s gorilla sculptures were created by Wild in Art, which promotes art through the use of unique animal sculptures as three dimensional artist’s canvas.

·         As well as showcasing the wealth of creative talent the city has to offer, this eye-catching public exhibition aimed to attract tourists to Bristol, while encouraging Bristolians to be tourists in their own city.

·         The trail also aimed to engender civic pride, stimulate the local economy and create a fun event for everyone to enjoy.

·         During the 10-week trail period this summer, members of the public picked up 75,000 Wow! Gorillas trail maps and over 35,000 copies of the map were downloaded from the Zoo website.

·         The Wow! Gorillas Facebook page now has over 13,000 fans and is increasing daily.

Bristol Zoo Gardens

·         Bristol Zoo Gardens is a conservation and education charity and relies on income from visitors and supporters to continue its important work. 

·         This year Bristol Zoo celebrates its 175^th anniversary and wants to do more than celebrate.

·         Over that past 175 years, the Zoo has brought six generations of Bristolians closer to wildlife, helped save over 175 species from extinction, established over 30 field conservation and research programmes   all over the world, showed 40 millionschool aged children the wonder of nature and given more than 90 million visitors a wonderful day out.

·         Throughout the year Bristol Zoo will be bringing people, businesses, charities and wildlife together to share amazing experiences that raise awareness and funds to save threatened wildlife and places. To find out more, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk/whats-on

·         The Zoo will be focusing its efforts on raising funds and awareness in support of gorilla conservation and will be supporting theEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria Ape Campaign.

·         The EAZA Ape campaign aims to make a significant and lasting contribution to the continued survival of apes and their habitats, and is being led by Dr Bryan Carroll, the Director of Bristol Zoo. www.bristolzoo.org.uk/conservation-campaigns.

·         Bristol Zoo has supported and been actively in gorilla conservation in Cameroon since 1998.

Full list of gorilla prices at auction: