Wild About Babies
LOCATIONS
Current Location
PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON - Jan 2024 - Jan 2025
Paternoster Square, 5 Paternoster Row, London EC4M 7DX
Baby White Rhino, Baby Giraffe, Baby Bengal Tiger, Baby Hippo, Baby Giant Tortoise, Baby African elephant, Mama Gorilla
Visit the sculpture, click for map >
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Current Location
PERTH - August 2023 onwards - Permanent Exhibition
Perth Zoo, 20 Labouchere Rd, South Perth WA 6151
Visit the sculpture, click for map >
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Current Location
WERRIBEE ZOO - May 2023 onwards - Permanent Exhibition
K Rd, Werribee South VIC 3030
Baby Hippo, Baby Zebra, Baby African Elephant, Baby White Rhino and the Baby Lion
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MELBOURNE ZOO - May 2023 onwards - Permanent Exhibition
Elliott Ave, Parkville VIC 3052
Baby Giant Tortoise, Baby Rock Wallaby, Baby Indian Elephant and the Baby Giraffe
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MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDENS - 2026 onwards Permanent Exhibition
350 US-1, Vero Beach, FL 32962, United States
Baby Giraffe, Baby African elephant, Baby White Rhino, Baby Hippo, Baby Cheetah, Baby Grevy’s Zebra, Baby Arctic Fox, Baby Marscican Brown Bear, Cheeky Chimps
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Previous Locations
PERTH - May 2023 - August 2023
Western Australia Museum, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth WA 6000
Visit the sculpture, click for map >
CLICK HERE TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO WWF >
PLEASE CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW TO READ ABOUT THE BABY ANIMALS
ABOUT THE BABIES
One nearly universal trait that all humans possess is the inability to not melt a little bit when they see a baby animal. Baby animals are adorable. Full of life with big personalities, it’s impossible to not feel uplifted, or even an instinctual pull to protect, whenever you have the privilege of watching one. This is the power behind the world’s most important public sculpture of 2022, ‘Wild about Babies’ and the way wildlife conservation will become an issue that everybody will want to fight for.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The sixth mass extinction has been coming to our headlines with increasing frequency, and as more and more research comes out, we are starting to see the stark reality of what this means. In January 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 203 critically endangered mammalian species, including 31 which were tagged as possibly extinct. Wildlife is being faced with enormous challenges such as climate change and poaching, making their fight for survival harder every day.
We are the reason for this. We have lived as though we were separated from the earth, as though it was a resource to be exploited. But it doesn’t have to be like that. We can also be the saviour. It is now our responsibility to transform this age into one of regeneration, an age where the entire planet can work together with love to live in harmony.
In 2022, the public will have the opportunity to lead the movement to save baby animals all over the world. They will be first in line to get up close and personal with some of the most adorable yet endangered animals of our time and fall in love. With this love will spark a flame in the hearts of the people to give this new generation of wildlife and the generations that follow, a better start than their parents had, changing the course of mass extinction into one of life.
All wildlife needs our help now more than ever. We must spread the word far and wide, helping more and more people to understand the importance of wildlife conservation before it’s too late. And we must do it with love.
ABOUT THE SCULPTURE
These sculpture exhibitions by renowned public artists Gillie and Marc will bring an adorable array of baby animals to the streets, in partnership with the world’s most renowned wildlife charity - WWF. Twenty cute yet magnificent newborns of all different species will be expertly crafted in bronze, each representing real baby animals from around the world.
A celebration of the incredible diversity of the animal kingdom, the babies will be made up of many different animals, from polar bears to koalas. Each will be approximately 1 meter tall, all interacting and playing with each other. They will each be at home in their natural environments with native rocks and plants included in the exhibition, showing the public each animal’s natural playgrounds and inviting them to play along too.
But every baby needs a mother to love and protect no matter what. These babies are all connected to their universal mother, a giant gorilla. Great and beautiful at 3 meters in height, s he sits with her arms spread wide, welcoming all the animals into the safety of her embrace. But this protection is not only for the 20 bronze babies, it is extended to all the humans who come her way, inviting them to join her in saving the baby animals of the world.
This sculpture project is created to be interactive, giving the public a unique experience to touch, cuddle, and get up close and personal with some of the worlds most endangered species. Each individual sculpture will have a QR code attached where the public will be sent to information and pictures about the real-life animal in its natural habitat, giving a deeper understanding of wildlife in all its diversity.
This will be the most important public sculpture installation on earth for 2022.
HOW TO HELP
Based off real animals that Gillie and Marc met while travelling, the public will be able to meet individual animals.
With public art, more people will come into contact with these sculptures, will stop and consider them, will take a photograph, and will discuss this with their friends and family. Through this increased exposure, the message of love, family, and conservation will be spread much further than any piece of art in a gallery ever could. It will bring people into close contact and will help them to fall in love. With love comes a greater urge to want to create a change and save all endangered animals.
The sculpture will be aligned with the hashtags #LoveTheLast and #wildaboutbabies to raise unparalleled awareness about the sculpture’s cause across the globe.
To help protect these babies you can adopt them and help them via the WWF: > Click here: www.wwf.org.au
If you are interested in buying Wild About Babies related art, you will also be directly helping real babies in the wild with 30% going to WWF to continue their fantastic work for animals conservation: Click here to browse art > https://gillieandmarc.com/collections/wild-about-babies
ABOUT GILLIE AND MARC
Gillie and Marc’s highly coveted public artworks can be found worldwide including in New York, London, Singapore, Shanghai, and Sydney. They are Archibald Prize finalists, won the Chianciano Biennale in Italy, took out the Allens People’s Choice Award in 2016 and 2018 and Kids’ Choice Award in the 2016 Sculpture by the Sea and received the Bayside Arts Festival People's Choice Award in 2019 in Sydney.
The husband-and-wife duo are on a mission to make art for a better tomorrow. They are best known for their beloved characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, who tell the autobiographical tale of two opposites coming together as best friends and soul mates.
Gillie and Marc are also passionate eco-warriors and have dedicated their lives to protecting nature.
Gillie grew up with the wildlife in Zambia and Marc studied chimpanzees in Tanzania as a young man. Over time, the artists developed a deep appreciation for all living things and a desire to preserve the magnificence of the natural world.
Through their art, Gillie and Marc aim to transform passive audiences into passionate advocates for animal conservation. Their mission is to use their work as a platform to continue spreading awareness about endangerment, which will ultimately lead to change and save species from extinction.
Their art has raised hundreds of thousands in donations for the many wildlife charities and causes they support through their project Love The Last.
Please follow @gillieandmarcart
CHARITY PARTNER
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organisations, with over five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. Our mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. WWF-Australia has launched a bold program of action to Regenerate Australia.
Regenerate Australia aims to rehabilitate and restore wildlife and habitats and future-proof Australia against climate disasters. We’re proud to be leading the way in creating and delivering innovative, high-impact sustainable solutions.
PERTH PARTNER
The Wild About Babies exhibitions at Western Australia Museum and Perth Zoo are made possible by the incredible support of APM.
APM is a global health and human services provider driven by its purpose of enabling better lives.
We work with people to find employment, improve their health, recover from injury or illness, live their best life with disability or as they age, and enjoy participation in their community.
Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, and with teams around the world, APM’s services support people throughout life’s journey so they can achieve optimal independence and wellbeing.
Like the purpose of Wild About Babies, APM’s global team aspires to make positive and lasting change by empowering people to be part of their local community and care for those in the world around them.
apm.net.au
