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This summer, giant tortoises are taking over Jersey in an extraordinary, free public art trail across the island's wild places, coastal vistas and urban hangouts.
The funds generated from the 'Tortoise Takeover' sculptures – which have been sponsored by local businesses and will be actioned off at the end of the trail – will be used to build a new amphibian and reptile house at Jersey Zoo.
Supporting the 'Tortoise Takeover' initiative as its official media partner, Express is getting behind the scenes of the trail to bring you a comprehensive guide of all 50 of the giant tortoises and the inspiration behind each sculpture's bespoke artwork.
Find out more about the the next five tortoises in the trail here...
About the tortoise: 'In The Stars' represents the universal efforts of Jersey Zoo and its supporters to save and protect endangered species worldwide. This tortoise represents how the destiny of our planet and the wildlife within it rests with us. Only we can change the rapidly declining state of our world, so extinction and destruction aren't written 'in the stars'.
Artist: Pixelhands
About the artist: Pixelhands is a traditionally trained illustrator who practices as a freelance creative with a client list spanning multiple industries. Primarily working in digital and print as a commercial artist, Pixelhands’ creative journey covers a multitude of disciplines, and has seen him work on a variety of projects from gig posters and book cover designs to animations and music video productions. His forte is executing contemporary branding and delivering bespoke websites. Interested in the synergy of art, culture and music, Pixelhands is a founding member of the Groove Collective – responsible for putting on Jersey’s most popular fundraising music festival, Groove De Lecq. Always looking for opportunities for artistic collaboration, he relishes being able to get his art into the public space... where art belongs.
Location: Grosnez
Sponsor: Praxis
About the tortoise: This tortoise is made up of thousands of hand-painted squished smileys. The whole tortoise has been painted in a mega neon yellow paint. 'It's A Rare Dave' has been created by internationally renowned artist Stuart Semple, who was honoured by the UN with a Happiness Hero medal in recognition for his 'HappyCloud' performance at Tate Modern in London.
Artist: Stuart Semple
About the artist: Stuart Semple is a multidisciplinary British artist working across painting, sculpture, happenings, technology and activism. He is well known for his sociologically engaged works that often discuss youth politics, accessibility and democracy. Although diverse in it’s presentation, Semple’s body of work orbits around a handful of recurring themes – anxiety, society, cultural history, technology, connection, community and freedom – and ultimately lands with a clear-minded sense of utility: that art itself should have a social function.
Location: Liberty Wharf
Sponsor: Rathbones
About the tortoise: 'Janvrin's Tortoise' pays homage to the awe-inspiring landscapes of our island home, highlighting the captivating and integral bond between the land and sea. This design is more than just a tribute to Jersey's beauty; it's also a nod to the island's rich history, enchanting connection with local folklore, and unique marine environment. The piece's 3D elements create texture and form, adding depth and dimension to bring the landscape to life in a way that is both visually striking and immersive. 'Janvrin's Tortoise' also provides a unique perspective of looking down on the familiar scenery of Portelet Bay in miniature form.
Artist: Jamie O'Neill
About the artist: Born in Jersey, Jamie has been a passionate 'doodler' for most of her life and loves nothing more than to create fresh and eye-catching visuals. Her work is often inspired by colours and patterns in nature, the seaside and the amazing landscapes around Jersey. Jamie studied traditional animation and pre-production design at university, and so storytelling, expression and narrative is always at the heart of her illustrations. Combined with her experience in creative marketing, Jamie's illustrations often provide a unique creative solution for many projects she has worked on. In recent years, Jamie has developed a fondness for creating bright, vibrant and dynamic children’s picture book art, as well as drawing on her background in marketing to help businesses dream up creative visuals for campaigns with strong storytelling components.
Location: St Catherine's Breakwater
Sponsor: Mourant
About the tortoise: 'Jersey Willow' is artist Tim Sutcliffe's 39th sculpture to date, and was inspired by the cracked pattern of the tortoise's shell, like a pot that has been glued back together. The design uses the blue and white willow style pottery to depict landmarks from all over Jersey that visitors will be able to discover as they take part in the Tortoise Takeover around the island.
Artist: Tim Sutcliffe
About the artist: Tim Sutcliffe is an artist, illustrator and designer based in Bristol who has worked on art trails all over the country. He started his design career as a student of Mechanical Engineering and then Industrial Design in London. An early passion of his was bringing human-centricity and simplicity to complex systems. He moved to San Francisco in 2008, and still lives there now with his wife and their two daughters. When not designing, Tim can be found roaming the countryside, cooking, or sailing in the San Francisco Bay. He is currently the Senior Director of Product Design at Tesorio, a fintech startup which helps companies collect, manage, and predict their cash.
Location: Royal Square
Sponsor: BCR Law LLP
About the tortoise: 'Keep Going, Keep Growing' was inspired by the humble tortoise's perseverance and their ability to keep plodding on through adversity seen in the fable, 'The Tortoise and The Hare'. Wildlife, landscapes and space are a huge inspiration to artist Rachel Hall and are often featured in her work. She mainly works with hand drawn digital illustrations to create her artworks so really loves changing up her processes what it comes to painting sculptures.
Artist: Rachel Hall
About the artist: Based in Bristol, Rachel Hall has run her illustration side hustle for the past six years. She is obsessed with all things spacey, spooky, weird and wonderful. Rachel's work is inspired heavily by traditional tattoo styles and uses traditional hand-drawn processes for her pieces which mainly come in the form of prints, pins and other apparel.
Location: Howard Davis Park
Sponsor: LV Care Group
Pick up a copy of the July edition of Connect Magazine for your FREE official Tortoise Takeover trail guide or check out the digital edition below...
Express is proud to be the media partner for this year's Tortoise Takeover. Sign up to our daily news email for all the latest updates.
MEET THE TORTOISES #1: A berry good shell-ection of sculptures
MEET THE TORTOISES #2: Strike a cosmic connection with a p'tit pal
MEET THE TORTOISES #3: Dodo you like to explore? From Eden to Eco Ninjas...
MEET THE TORTOISES #4: My tortoise family and other sculptures
This article was put together with the help of Sadie Taylor, who was on Trident Work Experience with Bailiwick Express.
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