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Jungle City
August 16, 2011 |
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The Exhibition An exhibition of over 130 life-size sculptures of Asia's endangered species, painted by artists and celebrities. There are: - Elephants - Hornbills - Orangutans - Crocodiles - Tigers This exhibition was organized by the charity, Jungle City. This is the first time that the exhibition has been held outside London. The organisers say in the catalogue 'Edinburgh 2011: Jungle City': "The event celebrates the magnificence of Asia's endangered wildlife, generating mass awareness of their plight and making everyone smile at the same time. It sees a herd of life-size Asian elephants lead a community of brightly painted orangutans, hornbills, tigers and crocodiles through the streets, parks and buildings of the world's most iconic cities with the aim of raising £50m over the next ten years for their survival ... Jungle City starts its journey in Edinburgh, home of the world's largest arts festival - a perfect launch pad for the global tour." |
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The Venues There four three stages to this exhibition: (a) Aug 16 to Sep 4: Sculptures exhibited in the Royal Botanic Garden. (b) Sep 6 to Sep 27: Sculptures exhibited around Edinburgh Old Town and New Town, including several in Princes Street Gardens (c) Sep 29, 2011: Grand Auction at the recently re-opened National Museum of Scotland. Sculptures were on display at the National Museum of Scotland on the day of the auction. At the end of the exhibition, many of the birds and animals came to the Dovecot Studios for a final farewell to Edinburgh. They were on show there from September 28 until October 1, the day that 'Jungle Jam' was held there with the Jungle City band, 'Columboloco'. Please click on the links above to see photos of some of the animals and birds. I particularly liked: - some of the backgrounds that the sculptures were set against when they were displayed at the Royal Botanic Garden in (a) above - the sculptures, most now removed from their wooden platforms, when they were displayed against the Victorian architecture of the Royal Scottish Museum in (c) above. |
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The Auction The auction on September 27, of the sculptures from Edinburgh's Jungle City Exhibition raised £400,000 for 'Elephant Family' and other conservation charities. The highest price, £60,000, was paid for a life-size model of a white tiger carrying a butler with umbrella, designed by the artist, Jack Vettriano, who painted 'The Singing Butler' *. Edinburgh Evening News: September 30, 2011: p.2 * 'The Singing Butler' painting by Jack Vettriano sold for £744,500 in 2004. |
