We are delighted to be supporting the Wolves in Wolves campaign taking place in the city of Wolverhampton until 24th September. It is the largest public art event to ever take place in the city with 30 unique wolf sculptures positioned in and around the city centre.
The Wolves wolf is called “OldGold” and is located in the reception of the Wolves Museum in the Stan Cullis Stand.
The artist, Alex Vann, graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a first class degree in Design for Communication. He recently was commissioned to do an oil portrait of the 2016 Mayor and Mayoress of Wolverhampton.
Alex says "I was delighted to be asked to submit a design for the WWFC "Wolves in Wolves" public art project.
I studied in Wolverhampton and have lived here for over 20 years so Wolves FC and the Molineux is a part of my culture. Many years ago I worked as graphic designer for a company called "Purple Loans" and designed stanchion banners and other advertising around the ground so in a way it felt like 'coming home'.
I have been to a few Wolves matches over the years and, although I can't claim to be an ardent fan, I have always admired the strong colours, stadium, logo and other branding. I see the way the club engages with the community too so I wanted my design to reflect that too.
To help with inspiration, I ran a Facebook campaign where I asked my friends (many of whom ARE ardent fans) for their ideas about what should go on the wolf. I was also very lucky to be invited to view the Museum and attend a match. This really helped my with my research on history of the club. Some names of famous players over the years and people associated with the club kept recurring from various places, so it made sense to include these somehow.
The logo design is very distinctive and modern so this hexagon shape provided a great way of producing 'info panels' in the club 3 main colours of gold, black and white. To match the Wolves gold paint I borrowed a shirt and had it scanned at B&Q who were able to mix a very close match.
I took photos of the stadium which I turned into a digital drawing and then a transfer which features on the wolf.
The club also provided key information and facts which were used to populate the info panels.
To reflect the community involvement I looked at the Wolves Community Trust values and decided to turn these into BSL (British Sign Language) fingerspelt words. The fingerspelling alphabet is shown around the base of the sculpture so I hope people will try and 'solve' the words. I was very pleased when a lady interviewed for BBC Midlands Today, said this meant that the wolf was for everyone. It was my aim that this was to be an inclusive design (one of Trust values is 'inclusion') which engages people in a physical way. I also visited Beacon Centre for the Blind as part of my research and they provided me with the Braille which is on the back of the wolf.
I really hope people enjoy the wolf, I've seen he is now wearing a Wolves scarf which is a lovely way of making him tactile and friendly and adds a little humour. It was originally planned that some of the players sign the football on the back so I hope that can still happen.
Wolverhampton is a great city and Wolves FC is a great club so I hope this design helps celebrates that."
To find out more about Alex click here
You can visit OldGold during the Museum opening hours of 12-5pm on Fridays, 11 – 4.30 pm on Saturdays and 11-3.30 pm on Sundays. The wolf will also be visible through the reception window 24 hours a day for those looking to complete the trail.
For more details of the Wolves in Wolves trail click here.
Fittingly, today is also Black Country Day, keep an eye out for #MadeInTheBlackCountry on twitter to see the great work happening in our local community
Watch the video of Old Gold being created here
