Gorilla in a coat of many colours

A piece of art that spent the summer in Exeter is expected to be one of the stars of a charity auction on Wednesday 6 November.

The life-size three-dimensional silverback gorilla is painted in the colours and patterns of a range of other animals.

The gorilla, named Miss Prints, has bird wings down the shoulders and forearms, one back leg seems to have come from a zebra while snakeskin, reptile scales and giraffe pelt also feature.

Miss Prints was on display in the Harlequins Shopping Centre, Exeter, which sponsored the piece. It’s part of the Great Gorillas Project, celebrating the 90th birthday of the region’s largest and best-known zoo, Paignton Zoo Environmental Park.

Paignton Zoo spokesperson Phil Knowling said: “Some of the Great Gorilla models are funny or imaginative, some are works of art. Miss Prints is a real piece of art. She is exquisitely finished – the detail is extraordinary. I can imagine Miss Prints going for a lot of money at the auction.”

The Great Gorillas Project saw life-size model gorillas sponsored by businesses and community groups, painted in original designs by specially-commissioned artists and displayed in public, creating a unique art trail around Exeter and the English Riviera.

Artist Penny Robson, who created Miss Prints, is a tutor for South Devon College’s Adult & Community Learning Department. “I have been fascinated by the texture, colour and patterns of animal skins since visiting the Zoo as a child and being given a skin shed by a snake. The prints, fur and feathers here are all from endangered species.”

It took Penny and a group of adult education students 200 hours to complete Miss Prints. Among the animals included are macaw, frog, fish, leopard, tiger, giraffe, pangolin, giant panda, turtle and tortoise.

The Zoo, a registered charity, is holding the auction on Wednesday 6th November at the Palace Theatre, Paignton, starting at 6.30pm. Most of the large sculptures will be included. The ticket-only event will be led by auctioneer Robin Barlow. To register your interest in the auction, go to http://www.greatgorillas.org.uk/about-great-gorillas/auction or telephone 01803 697509.