It's been five years now since the first Gromit Unleashed first took to Bristol's streets a couple of years on from the success of Wow! Gorillas in Bristol, which became very popular in the city. Since then, there has been a new sculpture trail in Bristol every couple of years. Since the gorillas, the sculpture trails have been hosted through Aardman Studios based on their characters from "Wallace & Gromit" and "Sean the Sheep". If you have not seen "Wallce & Gromit" original short films, I suggest you do so as they are good. This year's sculpture trail consists of nearly 70 sculptures and runs for a couple of months only and finished on 2 September. Most of the sculptures are located in and on the outskirts of Bristol, but some of them are further afield. At the end of the trail, the sculptures are auctioned, and the money goes to charity.
Gnome Sweet Gnome by Katie Wallis
Gromit Unleashed started in 2013 and became extremely popular in Bristol. I covered the sculptures in Part 1 and Part 2 here on my blog. That year, employees of Aardman, the studio that created "Wallace & Gromit", "Chicken Run", "Sean the Sheep", and other films, were also running workshops at the science museum; I learned how to create my own Gromit figure using the same clay used to create the claymation figures. In 2015, Sean the Sheep became the star of his own sculpture trail, which I saw in Bristol ('Shaun in the City' Charity Sculpture Trail in Bristol) and in London ('Shaun the Sheep' Art Charity Sculptures in the City (London)). In 2016, a new sculpture trail for Gromit Unleashed launched in Hong Kong, and some of the figures returned to Bristol for a show, including a super-sized Gromit: Hong Kong "Gromit Unleashed" Gromits Visit Bristol.
Amazing Grace by Tim Stutcliffe
Now, canine Gromit returns to the streets with his owner, slightly dim-witted Wallace and the sneaky villan penguin Feathers McGraw. The sculptures have been painted and styled in unique ways. The charity for this year's sculpture trail is Bristol Children's Hospital.
Gromjet by Rolls-Royce
This year's sculptures were perhaps even more creative from an engineering view and were interactive. One responded to motion detection. Another two were hooked up together through a camera where you could wave at people in real-time. Another simulated being launched and flying like a jet. Another enabled people to press buttons to wag its tail, change the colour of the LED lights, and change the pattern of the LED lights. Another one seemed to make energy from people cranking a wheel on it.
Cupid by Blossom & Brush
Photographs of some of the sculptures are included in this post.
Spock by Star Trek
Marshall by PAW Patrol
Bristol in Bloom by Ella Masters
Ferne by Natalie Guy
Rocket Man by Elaine Carr
Long John Wallace by Elaine Carr
Honeydew by The Yogscast
Gromitronic by Renishaw
Space Oddi-tea by Carys Ink
Oh Bollards! by Merlin Crossingham
The Wallace Collection by Rachel Bennett
Thermogromit by Kacpar Sokol and Timmy Willmott
The Howl by Tim Stutcliffe
Funny note on the above photograph, but the lady saw me trying to take a photograph, moved to get closer to the sculpture, and I and others waited a little bit for her to move, but she just stood there so I guess she wanted her photograph taken with the Gromit. I don't know who she was. I guess Gromit painted her too.
Feathers McCaw by Amy Timms
The Wensleydale Kid by Paula Bowles
Wallace in Wonderland by Beth Waters
Plooming Marvellous by Amy Timms
Cubby by Peskimo
Draco by The Knitted Pea
This Gromit does not look too happy that nearly everyone in the country seems to be walking around with their heads and hands glued to technology. (Actually, they were coming to see Gromit as well and using technology to track him).
Swallows and Amazons by Studio Canal
The Emperor by Natalie Guy
Splash! by Cheba
Sprinkles by Tom Hovey
If you are planning to visit the sculptures, you must do so before 2 September. Otherwise, there is another chance to see them all in one place by ticket purchase before they are auctioned. The trail can be downloaded via an app, or you can also get a paper map. Gone are the days of struggling to find the sculptures as the app is pretty accurate. For more information, visit the official website at https://www.grandappeal.org.uk
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