Bath Spa University has announced that best-selling award-winning illustrator Axel Scheffler is the artist for its Shaun the Sheep sculpture as part of the ‘Shaun in the City’ art trail.
Best known for his collaborations with author Julia Donaldson including the modern classic The Gruffalo, Axel has also illustrated numerous other books including the well-known Pip and Posy series.
Axel came to England in 1982 from his native Germany, and studied at the Bath Academy of Art, which was originally founded as the Bath School of Art in 1852, and became part of Bath Spa University in the 1980s.
Axel commented on his involvement: “In memory of my three years in the Wiltshire countryside at the Bath Academy of Art, where I was surrounded by sheep, I thought a pastoral theme would be just the right thing for my Shaun.
“I originally thought about painting a wolf among the sheep, but changed it to the Gruffalo, and added some nosy crows! Once again, I’m very happy take part in supporting this great cause.”
The sculpture designed by Axel Scheffler will join 49 other five-foot tall sculptures of Shaun the Sheep, which have been designed by artists, designers and celebrities.
The sculptures will stand at iconic landmarks, attractions and locations throughout the capital later this month. Bath Spa University’s sculpture will be located at Piccadilly Circus.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Christina Slade commented: “As a leading creative university, Bath Spa is proud to be working with one of our esteemed alumni on this exciting project, which not only celebrates creativity but also supports a worthy charitable cause.”
The ‘Shaun in the City’ trail will run across London from 28th March to 25th May. This will be followed by a second trail across Bristol, featuring 70 different Shaun sculptures, from 6th July to 31st August.
Following both trails, all 120 ‘Shauns’ will be sold off at a public auction in October.
The money raised by the sale of the London sculptures will go towards Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity, which supports sick children in hospitals throughout the UK.
The proceeds from the Bristol sculptures will go to The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital charity.
The Wallace & Gromit Children’s Charity organised the ‘Gromit Unleashed’ trail across Bristol in 2013, featuring the classic Aardman Animations character, which raised over £2.3 million for Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Director of Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity, Nicola Masters said: “The ‘Gromit Unleashed’ trail was an incredible success, raising £2.3million for the charity at auction and attracting more than 1.2million visitors to Bristol, which contributed over £123 million to the local economy.
“Following this, we wanted to bring our next project to both London and Bristol, so that even more people could get involved and enjoy our fantastic flock of sculptures.
“We’d like to thank Bath Spa University and the rest of our sponsors for helping us to make the trail happen, and bringing Shaun to the big city!”
Creator of Shaun the Sheep, Nick Park CBE said: “It’s been a busy year for Shaun, he has just launched his first movie and now he has his very own arts trail! Shaun is such a well-loved character with so many fans around the globe, I am sure many will flock to London to be part of the fun.”
