Edinburgh becomes Jungle City
‘Jungle City’, Scotland’s biggest outdoor art event has been unveiled this week. For 20 days, The Royal Botanic Gardens in Inverleith Row will be home to 130 life size sculptures of some of the planet’s most endangered and extraordinary species. The sculptures have been decorated by a spectrum of artists, designers and celebrities including Jack Vettriano, Emma Bridgewater and Geri Halliwell.
All of the animals featured in the exhibition are endangered and will raise funds for their endangered counterparts in Asia. The project is 100% charitable and aims to raise £1m for lead charity Elephant Family and five other conservation charities. All funds raised will be channelled into conservation projects designed to help protect the endangered Asian elephant from extinction together with all the other animals who share their habitat – hornbills, crocodiles, orangutans and tigers.
Jungle City is timed to fit with The Fringe and ensure that the widest possible audience can see and admire the sculptures while, at the same time, help raise funds.
The animals, destined to become highly collectible works of art, will grace The Royal Botanic Gardens until the end of the month when they will be unleashed onto the streets of Edinburgh on 6thSeptember.
One of the artists involved is Edinburgh based Henry Kondracki, he said: “I became involved with Jungle City because I believed that this creative response was necessary to highlight the present destruction of our natural habitats. Jungle City has been an interesting challenge, translating my works that are usually painted on canvas, onto a 3D surface of a life-size crocodile has been an original and exciting experience. I hope that the people of Edinburgh will enjoy this wild exhibition, and get behind this worthy cause.”
Some of the more delicate animals have been installed indoors and can be seen by visiting the Harvey Nichols store in St Andrew Square – where shoppers will encounter animals including tigers encrusted with Swarovski crystals and a feathered hornbill with ruby headdress – and at The Dome on George Street where a mother elephant will greet customers at the bar.
A highlight of the exhibition is the audio guide. Fifty of the sculptures will ‘talk’ and will entertain visitors as they follow the route. There are some famous voices among them including Andrea Corr (Chatty Baby Elephant); Dame Rula Lenska (Glamorous Older Elephant); Boogie (Romantic Hornbill), Dingo (Gap Year Croc) and Arlene (Tiger House Hunter) from Forth One; and Stella Tennant (Shopping Elephant). Audio guides will be available from the shop at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
HRH Prince of Wales comments: “This remarkable initiative aims to help alleviate the crisis facing so many species on our planet today. Your generous support of Jungle City in Edinburgh will quite simply make all the difference so I can only urge you to support this innovative campaign in any way you can”
First Minister Alex Salmond said: “It is a tribute to Edinburgh’s reputation as a leader in the arts and architecture that the Elephant Family Charity has chosen the city to stage its new exhibition to highlight Scotland’s reputation as a leading force for conservation and the arts. Work by some the best of Scottish artists and designers will transform Edinburgh into an “urban jungle” with colourful sculptures filling the streets and the noise of the jungle filling our ears.
“It will be Scotland’s biggest outdoor art exhibition benefiting Elephant Family and the vital work of a further 6 conservation charities. The fact that this magnificent feast to the senses will also raise £1million for conservation projects across Asia is to be applauded.
“ I urge you to support this innovative, fun and vital campaign, in any way you can to help save Asia’s critically endangered species and their habitat “
Mark Shand founder of Elephant Family comments, “The reason I am so passionate about making Jungle City the biggest possible success is because it truly represents a serious chance to have a major impact– we could raise in excess of £1 million from the Scotland launch alone and go on to raise £50 million as the model is rolled out globally over the next ten years.”
The sculptures will be sold at a glittering auction event on 29th September in Edinburgh.