Anniversary Exhibition Visit for ‘Longarm’ Sculpture
The 25th anniversary exhibition in Pollyanna’s gallery will have a very special guest – ‘Longarm’ – a life sized sculpture of a brave and inspirational orang utan.
Longarm has been created by the award winning wildlife sculptor Casey Nadine Banwell (above, with her sculpture). Casey has extensive experience working in the film and television industry, creating for productions including Game of Thrones, Kingsman, and Alice Through the Looking Glass, as well as Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, Tarzan, and Cinderella.
Casey created the detailed and life like sculpture when she learned the story of Leuser, a blind orangutan facing life-changing injuries when he was shot sixty four times in the face and groin after accidentally straying into a palm oil plantation. Now resident at the The Orangutan Haven in Sumatra he continues to inspire those around him with his strength and tenacity.
The Longarm sculpture is now embarking on a journey through the UK from Casey’s workshop in Buckinghamshire to the sanctuary in the Sumatran rainforest which will be his final home. Visitors to our gallery will be welcome to sit with Longarm for a photograph as he visits Derbyshire on his global travels. A film crew will be documenting his travels to create a documentary to raise awareness of Leuser’s story and the devastating impact of the palm oil industry on wildlife habitats.
The main project for the landmark 25th anniversary exhibition will be to raise funds to rebuild a vital Quarantine and Rehabilitation centre at The Orangutan Haven. Towards the end of 2024 several major landslides struck the north of Sumatra. These landslides, triggered by exceptionally heavy rainfall, caused extensive damage to key infrastructure, including the main veterinary clinic and multiple orangutan enclosures.
“I can’t wait to welcome this amazing sculpture to our exhibition” Anna-Louise commented “It is so fantastic that Casey is channelling her passion for conservation into such an ambitious and meaningful endeavour, in just the way Pollyanna tried to do with her own artwork. I know she would be proud that we are supporting this incredible project.”
Through her work, Casey has already generated over £30,000 to conservation causes, supporting programs for orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra, as well as initiatives to protect threatened pangolins in the Masai Mara.