Digital Darwin finds new home in Sale Art Zoo exhibition

Integrated communications agency, One, has unveiled its contribution to the much-anticipated Sale Art Zoo exhibition.

The piece, a life-size model of a chimpanzee, called ‘Darwin’, joins 24 other installations, for the outdoor community art exhibition, which sees penguins, giraffes, zebras and alligators on display around the town centre, in parks and on the streets of Sale.

A free trail map is available to help visitors find all the animals and find out more about their story.

All sculptures have been painted and decorated with original designs by all 19 primary Schools in Sale, as well as commissioned pieces by local artists, businesses, like One, and other community groups.

Using the latest projection mapping technology, Darwin will feature an engaging, immersive animation projected onto his face around the theme of Charles Darwin’s, Origin of Species.

Peter Davis, creative director at One, comments: “When we heard about the opportunity to exhibit and be a part of the fantastic Sale Art Zoo, we absolutely knew we had to get involved. It’s not very often a project of this nature arises and it’s proven not only a chance to get to engage with other businesses and artists in our community, but showcase what we can really do as an agency.

“Our adopted chimp, Darwin, was born out of an agency-wide brainstorm, where we all agreed that – much like our company name, ‘One’ – it would be apt to develop our creative theme around the evolution of man and the link between ape and human ‘as one’.”

In addition to the sculptures, an indoor exhibition at Sale Library has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to present the story of George Mottershead OBE (1894-1978), founder of Chester Zoo.

George Mottershead’s story is an inspiring tale of how a determined Sale-born entrepreneur overcame adversity to fulfil his childhood dream of opening a “zoo without bars”.

Chester Zoo was opened by George Mottershead and his family in 1931, and has since established a global reputation for its conservation, educational and environmental work – most recently featuring in the Channel 4 programme, The Secret Life of a Zoo.

Wayne Silver, managing director at One, adds: “This is a fantastic example of the whole agency’s talents and the level of immersive creative work we like to bring to the table for all our clients.

“We’d like to thank organisers, Two by Two, for inviting us to adapt Darwin and supporting the ambitious vision for our piece. The exhibition has been a resounding success thus far and we’re proud to be associated with the great town of Sale!” As well as designing and decorating Darwin, the agency has created a behind the scenes video about how the chimp was created, even down to the design of the tattoo on his arm, and is hosting a competition on its website to ‘find Darwin’ to have a chance to win a Fit Bit to help track the steps the winner takes when walking around the exhibition this summer.