I know there are those who dislike zoos and think that it is cruel to take away the freedom of animals for human pleasure. In some ways, I can understand this sentiment but I do believe that, as a net positive, Zoos are a good thing. Is it not good that people get to see these creatures and learn to appreciate them from a distance, without having to trample into their ecosystem and change it with their presence? Having one or two animals in captivity is maybe a small price to pay for protecting their natural habitat and in some cases their entire species. Also in the wild animals have predators which in Zoos they are protected from, this must be some consolation for giving up their freedom to roam. Coupled with this they also have someone to serve up a meal when they are hungry. They get to live the life of millennials. This can't be too bad an existence. Of course, I say all this from my privileged perspective of a wild human.
I remember when I worked at a zoo in Sweden, a tree fell on the fence at the lion's enclosure. The lion didn't roar 'Freedom', he stayed put. When the wardens came to the scene they found the lion sitting inside the broken fence protecting its domain from intruders. So I am not too sure that animals really like to travel far except out of necessity.
Zoos are also a place of science and conservation. Dublin Zoo is one such place and has had a great history of animal treatment and breeding endangered animals. It is also a wonderful day out. They have spent millions since 1831 to make it a world-class attraction. They have African Savannas, Gorilla forests, Sealion Cove and everything in between. It is like travelling four continents in an afternoon.
As the documenting of my work for 2016 begins, I didn't have to travel too far for my first job. Just down to road to the phoenix park which houses the Zoo. I was happy to work in this prestigious location. Here is a little known fact. The Lion at the start of the MGM movies was from Dublin zoo ( you may be able to tell from his accent) I had visited several times as a child but here I was going to work there as a sculptor. This as a Dubliner gave me great bragging rights.
They wanted to revamp the ape enclosure and make it more friendly to the inmates and audience. I had been asked by a Dutch company to help with forming some giant trees for them to climb on. Real trees would not have been possible as they take hundreds of years to grow and these exotic ones would not grow in our climate. We had to recreate them from Steel and cement.
Kitting up
First things first, I needed to be trained up to work on this building site. Things have become very strict in Ireland when it comes to building works and although most of the training was just common sense, which I believe I have after 20 something years of working all over the world I had to sit through two days of someone in a suit tell me how to hold a hammer and pick up a pot of paint.
The site was also very strict and because of all the dangers, I had to wear lots of PPE (Person Protective equipment) First my clothes because they frown working nude, Hardhat, Gloves (which I hate) and safety glasses. My coat, 'cause it was freezin' Rain gear because it was rainin'. Life jacket because there was water close by and a safety harness because I was working at height. All these things made me feel like the Michelin Man and it was not the easiest garb to create in.
Armatures had already been placed for the trees. Simple I-beams bolted to a concrete plinth. Alongside this was also a little lift that would be used to feed the animals at the tops of the trees. The wardens would put food in at the bottom and then press a button which would lift it to the top to a special little slot.
Other I-beams were bolted onto this central structure and they would form the branches.
Our first job was to use steel rods and expanded mesh netting to attach to this and build out the basic form of the tree. Unfortunately, I don't have any images of this process except what you can see in this photo. You can make out a steel ring we made up to form the girth and already done you can see the trunk starting to take shape.
This mix of steel and mesh formed a shell that the cement was added over and now because I am missing some photos we will fast forward to the cement.
Here's one I prepared earlier
The cement was sprayed onto the surface in two layers. The first one would fill everything in and be used to perfect the form. When we were happy we would put another layer that was then detailed with the finished texture.
Super material
Concrete is a very underappreciated sculpting material. It really allows you to carve some crazy things. Seeing as it starts off like clay you can really model it into any form you want. When it starts to harden after a few hours you still have time to carve in texture like it is a soft stone.
Using the tools I have used for sand carving we were really able to get organic layers of detail. I used trowels, pallet knives, brushes and sponges and other things I found to hand to work with.
When finished it does take a good while to dry out fully and the blotchy surface can look quite ugly. The next level was to paint them and that is something I never got the pleasure to do because I had to cut my work in the zoo short.
Fading away
My father had been diagnosed with cancer nearly two years ago before I started this project. I wrote about it here . The doctors had given him months to live but he was a great fighter and with the help of medicine he had stuck around for much longer and in Ok health, all things considered, that was until just after Christmas 2016. His body and mind started to fail quite fast and he had to be moved to a hospice. We just couldn't take care of him at home any longer. It was a very hard time for the Doyle family, as our Father, The man I called Daddy was fading away.
Pierce Fintan Doyle 18 August 1928 - 7 March 2016
I spent as much time with him as I could in those last two years. Trying to grab every memory I could out of the time. I was so happy I could tell him Clodagh was pregnant and then happier still that he was around to meet Fintan. I recorded interviews with him where he told me his life story ( I still can't listen to, or share them, not yet).
He was always the one I would phone when I had a problem to solve. His knowledge of everything was amazing. He had designed and built our family home all by himself and raises 10 children along with my amazing mother under its wonderful roof. He was a gentleman and the greatest man I have ever known. He was even made an honorary priest for the work he had done as a maintenance man in Belcamp College secondary school run by the Oblate Fathers.
RIP Daddy
It was in the early hours of Monday the 7th of march that he finally passed away surrounded by his family. It was the first death I have had by someone really close to me and it was like, well, I don't know, I can't express it.
Just know that if I could be half the man he was, I would be happy. He was my co-creator giving me half of who I am.
Sorry about the photo, someone seemed to have smeared the lens with vaseline. He was really much sharper than this but it does show the twinkle in his eyes that I will always remember him for. But more than his face I remember his hands. Strong and scarred from a lifetime of work.
It is difficult to make a transition back to the trees. But here we go, I did a few more days in the zoo after my father's death and funeral. I had been invited to a project in Japan and was really looking forward to that. The guys in the zoo knew I would be going before I started and I hoped that I could continue on after but they really needed to finish up fast and couldn't wait for me.
I finally got to see the finished product in 2018 when Fintan was old enough to enjoy the experience. We bought a yearly ticket that meant we could visit as many times as we wanted during that year. It was nice to be able to go just to see the hippo or the Red Panda and pace out the whole attraction.
The trees were painted and the landscape around them was well established with real plants. It really looked like a natural habitat. Water was the border between the animals and humans but above the were ropes strung between the trees that the apes could climb across, over the public paths.
Aping into it
The animals seemed to be really enjoying their new home. When I was making I was trying to think like a hairy ape and make stuff that I would like to interact with. Safety was also a big concern, didn't want these guys to fall or cut themselves on sharp corners.
Overall, I believe it was a great success and a super playground for the Orangutans and Gibbons. The endangered Siamang Gibbons gave birth to a baby in 2020. I like to think that the trees made them feel that their enclosure was a safe place to raise a family.
Ps
Thanks for reading. I use PeakD to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Hive Blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.
Iglu-Dorf Under The Sea - snow sculpture (part 2)
Iglu-Dorf Under The Sea - snow sculpture (part 1)
Taj Mahal - ice sculpture
I hope you'll join me again soon
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I am also starting to create NFTs of my sculptures and welcome you to my gallery where you can own a bit of ephemeral sculpture history.