Dimensions
Sculpture:
46.5 x 46.1 x 45.7 inch (H*L*W) 445.3 lbs
118 x 117 x 116 cm (H*L*W) 202 kgs
Base:
46.1 x 45.7 inch (L*W)
117 x 116 cm (L*W)
Medium
Bronze
Style
Contemporary Sculpture, Wildlife, Activist Art
Edition Number
/6
Description
From the famous Gombe Stream community in Tanzania, this 4-year-old chimp still has a lot to learn. He watches closely as his mum goes around her day to day life, learning as much as he can while taking every opportunity to have fun. He thought that he could be friends with another community that would sometimes come near his community, humans. They look and acted so similar to him he thought they would be great fun! But he was warned against them. They have been known to eat chimps and steal babies as their pets.
The chimpanzee is our closest living relative, sharing about 99% of our DNA. It’s even thought that we have a common ancestor who lived sometime between 7-13 million years ago! Through research we have been able to see some of the magical similarities between us and chimpanzees. We all have our own unique personalities, are incredibly social, can learn basic sign-language, and, most importantly use and make tools.
A chimpanzee will usually only give birth to one baby at a time. The babies are completely helpless and the level of love and care given by the mother is crucial for a healthy baby. For the first 30 days of their life, the baby will cling to their mother's belly and will move on to riding on their backs at 5 or 6 months. They start to be able to move around independently by the age of 2 and by 4-6 are weaned. As young chimps, they will still stay with their mothers for up to 9 years. Until then, the mother will play with her baby and teach them all the important skills needed for being a chimp.
Chimps are incredibly social creatures. They have intricate connections between the different members of their community, touching, cuddling, and sometimes fighting with each other. Grooming is an incredibly important part of chimp life. Not only is it important to stay clean and tidy, but it’s also a fantastic way to strengthen bonds, build alliances, and relax. Chimps can spend a few minutes and even up to a few hours grooming each other, maintaining friendly ties between the community. The important bonds between chimpanzees can also be seen when the grieve for their dead. Those who were closest to the deceased are visibly more upset and spend a lot more time in the process of mourning. Mothers will carry their dead babies around; others will groom their friend. This shows their diverse and complex emotions, and most importantly, their ability to love.
Chimpanzees are now endangered because of our actions. Because of major increases in human populations, miles and miles of their habitat is being destroyed, clearing space for city expansion, agriculture, roads, logging, and mining. This is making it harder for the chimps to survive, forcing them to live in smaller and smaller spaces and putting a major strain on food options. This issue over food, in particular, has led to human-chimpanzee conflict. In their desperation to find enough to eat, the chimps are forced to come to human settlements to steal food, mainly easy to grab things such as fruit, but when things are really tough, they have been known to take children. Families retaliate by killing the chimps to stop any other attacks. Chimps are also targeted by bushmeat hunters as they provide plenty of meat compared to other smaller animals. The hunters are also known to take the young as their pets or sell them on the illegal pet trade, a lifestyle that is never suitable for a wild animal. With DNA so similar to our own it is not surprising that chimpanzees are susceptible to many of the same diseases that we are. Since the 1980s, Ebola has been a major threat killing hundreds of thousands of chimpanzees.
Artwork Features
Gillie and Marc love working in bronze for many reasons. Bronze is a very hardy material and will last forever. As experts in coloring bronze, Gillie and Marc enjoy experimenting with their sculptures, adding a splash of color to brighten the work, making it even more unique. > Read more
For every purchase of a bronze sculpture you will receive a certificate of authenticity, titled, signed, dated and editioned by the artists.
Care Instructions
Bronze is very easy to clean, allowing you to enjoy your precious sculpture with minimal upkeep. > Read more
Shipping, Returns and Refunds
Please visit this page to learn all about our policies. > Read more
Give Back to WWF-AUSTRALIA
With every edition purchased, Gillie and Marc will proudly donate 30% of proceeds to support WWF-Australia.
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
For more information, visit https://wwf.org.au/donate/wild-about-babies/
