The Falklands 'Penguin Parade'

by Anthony Smith

Inspired by the various 'Cow Parade' sculpture projects that have taken place in various cities around the world in recent years, I decided to do something similar (on a smaller scale) during my recent one-month residency in the Falkland Islands:

Working with the children at the Falkland Islands Community School in Stanley, I sculpted ten life-sized King penguins from wire, papier-mâché and plaster. Each of the school's 150 pupils then made their own designs for how they would like the penguins decorated. The best ten were chosen and within a few weeks they were popping-up in the streets and shops of Stanley, much to the delight (and surprise!) of the locals.

The chosen designs were locally-themed and related to different aspects of life on this remote islands – a 'Parcel Penguin', a 'Penguin News Penguin' (wrapped in the local newspaper of the same name), an 'Army Penguin', a 'Fisheries Penguin', a 'Land Rover Penguin', a 'Dairy Penguin', a 'Danger Penguin' (complete with a mines warning sign), a 'Falklands Money Penguin', a 'Tourist Penguin', and an 'Artist Penguin'.

I'm pleased to hear that some of the Penguins will soon be going on tour – they will be taken aboard the tiny plane that connects Stanley with the more remote settlements, so that they get to see some of the outer islands! Later in the year they will be auctioned off to help raise funds for other school projects.

Anthony Smith studied Zoology at Christ's (2002-05) and has since become a professional artist and photographer (www.anthonysmithart.co.uk).

Photos from his visit to the Falklands can be seen on his photography website (www.anthonysmithphotography.com).