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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: The iconic puffins are part of Jersey's natural heritage. They're sadly now critically endangered due to climate change and overfishing, which has reduced their main food source: sand eels. With only four breeding pairs remaining in Jersey, artist Katherine wanted to highlight their plight by featuring Jersey's entire puffin population on this tortoise. Each puffin painted has its own quirky unique character.
Artist: Katherine Cadin
About the artist: Katherine Cadin is a painter with a passion for vibrant colour and pattern. Aboriginal art and her Greek heritage strongly influence the colours and themes in her work, and a love of vintage textiles and folk art inform the intricate patterns in her paintings. She is also inspired by the coast and marine life.
Location: Sorel Point
Sponsor: Le Gallais Self Storage
About the tortoise: For 'Rivers of Colour', artist Rosie used bold organic swirls of colour – some mirroring the movement of rivers – to represent the vibrancy and diversity of Earth's ecosystems. These areas are broken up by the same flowing lines in muted greyscale, reflecting the loss of biodiversity and the fragmentation of our planet's wildlife havens.
Artist: Rosie Meredith
About the artist: Rosie Meredith has an extra special reason to support the trail – not only is she a local artist, but the 26-year-old's day job is as a keeper at Jersey Zoo.
Location: Millenium Park
Sponsor: Legendre Group
About the tortoise: 'Sanctuary' was inspired by HRH The Princess Royal, who has shown her dedication and support to Durrell for 50 years through many trips, not only to Jersey Zoo, but also to the Durrell's outposts around the world as part of her patronage. The sculpture's colour palette was also inspired by HRH's colourful fashion throughout the years. 'Sanctuary' was designed and painted in dedication to HRH by creating a seamless array of flora and fauna, in bright colours, symbolising the beautiful relationship between The Princess Royal and Durrell.
Artist: Gabriella Street
About the artist: Gabriella Street is an illustrator and graphic designer. Her work is inspired by mental health, nature, and the little everyday moments that people forget to notice. She loves to play around with bright colour palettes and dynamic compositions creating narrative artworks that give you a sense of familiarity. Garbiella is based in Dorset working as a freelancer.
Location: Mont Orgueil Castle
Sponsor: Durrell
About the tortoise: 'Shell-f Reflection' allows you and your surroundings to become an intimate part of the sculpture. As a society, we are increasingly interested in our reflections in the modern age of smart phones, but sometimes we forget to stop and appreciate the beauty of nature and our surroundings.
Artist: The Beach
About the artist: 'Shell-f Reflection' was designed by brand agency The Beach who fuse branding, strategy and insight.
Location: Le Moulin de Quetive
Sponsor: Standard Bank
About the tortoise: 'Shell's Angel' was inspired purely by a good pun and ironically depicts the famously slow tortoise as a speed-craving old biker – complete with the classic leather jacket, boots, bandanna, and tattoos!
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: Bel Royal
Sponsor: Voisins Department Store
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
MEET THE TORTOISES #5: Keep going, as the trail keeps growing
MEET THE TORTOISES #6: Will you be the 'lucky one' as the trail continues?
MEET THE TORTOISES #7: Good enough to eat?!
This article was put together with the help of Sadie Taylor, who was on Trident Work Experience with Bailiwick Express.
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