18 months or so ago I wrote about some wonderful public art in Paternoster Square near St Pauls https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2022/06/16/the-wildlife-table-of-love-in-paternoster-square/ which led to a further post on https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2022/06/27/rabbitwoman-and-dogman/#:~:text=As%20unlikely%20animal%20kingdom%20companions,as%20well%20as%20an%20individual.
Over the last year or two, I’ve seen Rabbitwoman and Dogman appear temporarily in new places around London but last week and actually the first day after their installation I found a new exhibition in Paternoster Square.
The new collection is entitled ‘Wild About Babies’ and is a cute celebration of the incredible diversity of the animal kingdom. In one of the largest public sculpture projects in the world, 20 babies, from polar bears to chimpanzees, have been expertly crafted in bronze. Made with exquisite detail, the public will get a once in a lifetime experience and see what these wild animals are really like, an opportunity for education like no other.
Protected by their universal mother, a great, 3-metre tall gorilla, she gives the overall message of the project; no matter what the species, we all have the responsibility to protect babies from harm. In partnership with the world’s most renowned wildlife charity, WWF, the public instantly get the opportunity to make a difference for the real baby animals.
In tandem with the opening of the Wild About Babies sculpture opening, there will also be a connected exhibition of paintings. Titled Disappearing Animals, these portraits of the sculpted babies are a comment on how fragile their existence is and how it feels to watch these species disappearing before our very eyes. It is a call for everyone to act before the paint swallows them up and we lose them forever.
Although in this modern safety mad world there is a safety disclaimer, it’s hard not to believe the these little things haven’t been designed for children to clamber around on them
I’m not sure how long ‘Wild About Babies’ will be here for but I’ve already said hello to them three times in as many days. I think they are a fine place to put in such a large public space and if the best art conveys a message or purpose then this really does kill two birds with one stone… except that would be bad in such a conservation themed post!
Stephen Liddell 