Elephants in Spitalfields, London

I recently saw the herd of elephants around the King's Road in Chelsea, London. I then went to see another herd that are situated at Spitalfields. Whereas the Chelsea elephants are made of an invasive plant, the Spitalfields are bronze. And they have a different significance. They represent real orphaned baby elephants that have beaten the odds to survive.

The elephants are located around Spitalfields Market. The market started in 1682 and lasted until the early 1990s. It is now a market with lots of individual arty/crafty type stalls, as well as many food and beverage outlets. Outside the market is used for outdoor artworks.

The Herd of Hope arrived in 2020. 

The herd of 21 elephants were previously located at Marble Arch. They were there from Dec 2019. A mother elephant sat in the middle surrounded by 20 elephant calf sculptures. These were modeled from real orphaned baby elephants currently in the care of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. This is a project in Kenya that protects elephants. Each sculpture includes the name of the orphaned calf they represent and their sad backstory. 

Now the 21 elephants are scattered around Spitalfields market. I guess this separation is applicable considering the elephants are orphans, but it would be nice to see them in small groups.

This is the matriarch, she represents the mother and family each of the infant elephants lost when they became orphaned. 

And some of the babies -

The elephant herd were created by Gillie and Marc. These artists have two other sculptures at the market. "Dogman and Rabbitgirl with coffee" (2017) represent unity and acceptance. "Gillie and Marc’s autobiographical characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, have a dream that open hearts and open minds can come together over a warm cup of coffee to promote diversity, love, and acceptance." -

Together Forever on Wheels, (2020). "Dogman and Rabbitwoman are back, but this time they’re on Vespas! The inspiration behind our latest addition was to try and encourage the public to step out of their front doors and fall in love with the world, people and animals in it." (Spitalfields public art)

Soon the Chelsea herd of elephants will be migrating to a new area, so I will have to go and find them in due course.