Saturday 28 July saw the launch of Jersey’s Go Wild Gorillas sculpture trail. Over the next 11 weeks, 40 large and dozens of small, individually designed gorillas can be found across Jersey’s countryside, open spaces, parks and parishes, including two sculptures sponsored by Deloitte.

Funds raised from the trail will go towards a new home for Jersey Zoo’s well-loved gorilla family and will continue to support Durrell’s impact on conservation around the world.

Chico, part of the young gorillas trail, was decorated by the children at Cheeky Monkeys Nursery at Durrell and can be found in the window of De Gruchyon King Street in St Helier. Chico is one of 45 small gorillas decorated by artists, schools and community groups, making Go Wild Gorillas the Channel Islands’ largest mass-participation art event.

The 40 life-size gorilla sculptures have been sponsored by local companies and designed by artists from Jersey, the UK and beyond.

Local sand-design artist Andy Coutanche has created Deloitte’s unique gorilla sculpture and the firm is delighted about its location at El Tico overlooking the beautiful St Ouen’s Bay.

Andy’s gorilla was inspired by a ‘negative space conceptual sculpture’ and is officially named The Space Between Us, but has been nicknamed Vincent.

“My design is quite bold because I cut my gorilla in half and since I cut off his ear, the name Vincent has stuck,” Andy explained. “This form of sculpture is a way of injecting the real world into the creation and allows the piece to change continuously.”

“The negative space helps define the boundaries of the positive space and bring a balance to the composition; this in turn allows the viewer to interact with both.”

“We’re very proud to take part in Jersey’s Go Wild Gorillas campaign and thrilled at the local support it’s receiving,” said Deloitte Partner Martin Rowley, who has led the firm’s participation in the initiative.

“It’s a great opportunity for businesses like ours to support an organisation like Durrell which plays such an important role not only in our local community but also the wider world. Andy is a talented artist, we think Vincent is the pick of the troop, and Deloitte as a firm is very honoured to have our name associated with such an incredible piece of art.”

Activities surrounding the campaign are planned throughout the summer for Deloitte staff, clients and colleagues.

The Go Wild Gorilla trail will be open to the public until Monday 14 October.