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Artful makeover for WWF panda
Miranda Bryant07.09.09
British artists and designers have given the World Wildlife Fund panda logo its first big makeover in half a century.
Using sculpture, videos and drawings, 16 art world luminaries have come up with new looks to raise awareness before the Copenhagen Climate Change summit in December.
The designs, on display in the Oxford Street window of Selfridges, will be auctioned off next month and are expected to fetch up to £100,000.
WWF's panda logo, introduced in 1961 when the charity started, and designed by naturalist and painter Sir Peter Scott - a founder - has been given the artists' own individual twist.
The artists each reinvented the WWF panda collection tin to reflect current global environmental challenges.
Pop artist Sir Peter Blake, from Chiswick, named his red and black panda sculpture World Wrestling Federation to question what WWF stands for. It was created with "a sense of humour and jest".
"What my little bear is doing is making a mistake," said the artist behind the album sleeve for the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Fashion designer Paul Smith created a "fun, colourful and bright" one-metre high panda because he wanted people to "stop and think".
Smith's sculpture includes his trademark multi-coloured stripes and has been sold for thousands of pounds.
He said: "These iconic pandas have been helping to raise awareness for decades I felt it would be great to be involved in reviving them, to encourage people to broaden their knowledge of how to help stop the destruction of our natural world."
London-based artist Jason Bruges created an army of 100 collection-pot pandas, with thermal cameras causing the models to rotate to face passers-by.
"They look cute at first, but the movement and having them following you is quite unnerving. It forces you to think about climate change," he said.
Tracey Emin designed a framed photograph and drawing called Cool Bears. The photograph shows the artist with a panda collection pot.
The monoprint illustration includes the words "panda pop".
She said: "I passionately care about wildlife and anything that makes people aware of the damage that we are doing to this planet."
The designs, on show at Selfridges until 27 September, will be auctioned on 12 October.
