If you’ve lived in the UK during the past 15 years you’ve probably seen, at the very least, one in a series of sculptures curated by Wild In Art. The business works with local partners to create public art trails, using identical sculptures painted by a range of artists. Embedded in the concept is the spirit of collection.
The organisation has delivered hundreds of these projects, featuring sculptures such as balloon dogs, rockets and book benches, as well as licensed TV & film characters. The trails have now expanded geographically beyond the UK to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Kenya.
The company I work for came onboard as a project sponsor in 2025 for a Wild In Art trail produced in collaboration with Julia’s House Dorset & Wiltshire Children’s Hospices, with all funds raised supporting the vital work of this important charity. ‘The Great Tail Trail’ consisted of 88 mermaid tails situated across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Prior to the roll out my colleague and I were invited to the storage facility where artists painted their allocated tails and the full collection was held before the public launch. It was an incredible sight to see them all lined up and ready to go. I could’ve stayed all day admiring each unique piece.
The tail we sponsored, ‘Shake Your Tailfeathers’, was painted by the talented Jina Gelder. The iconic seagulls it features were selected as one of four designs for a series of inspired-by merchandise which proved popular in the Julia’s House retail shops.
At a preview event the week of the trail’s launch, we were able to see some of the tails again, this time against the backdrop of our golden coastline, as well as the trail maps, both paper and digital. The latter came in the form of a great app, that further facilitated the collecting nature of the project. When visiting the tails in situ, there was a four digit code to be found to enter on the app and add the sculpture to your ‘collection’.
At a £1.99 price point, this was an affordable way to enhance your experience of the trail and support Julia’s House in the process, available to download from the Apple and Android app stores. In addition to providing a way of capturing the trail, the app also delivered rewards and discounts from local businesses.
The trail ran throughout April and May, following which the tails were collected together again at the Bournemouth International Centre for a farewell event in June, before going to auction the following week at Compton Acres’ Italian Villa (I wrote about these two events for my blog).
At a time when our towns and city centres are at various stages of regeneration, ‘art’ itself is recovering from years of underfunding and the costs attached to purchasing items raises barriers to entry for collecting (or prices current collectors out), these projects provide a sense of joy and fun to communities.
I saw lots of families out and enjoying the trail during the unexpectedly sunny spring. My nephew made a great cut-and-stick collage of the photos he took at each of the tails he visited.
Many collections are characterised by being quite individualistic in the sense that they are the passion of one person and often remain safe and secure, stored out of sight and UV light (I am firmly in this category of collector!). These projects demonstrate that the experience of collecting is not limited to hobbyists or hoarders. Collections can be a communal, shared adventure.
To learn more about Julia’s House and The Great Tail Trail visit juliashouse.org. To learn more about other Wild In Art projects visit wildinart.co.uk
Liam Toms 