Sally
Joanna May's elephant for the Elephant Parade is called 'Sally'.
Joanna May said “I got involved with Elephant Parade because it was saving 'Wildlife' and I have been grateful for many years that I have made my living out of painting the beauty of animals all round the world. To be able to give something back while also showcasing my talent has been a real pleasure. I hope it will give many hours of pleasure to the public to appreciate both the elephant and art itself.”
Joanna illustrates the hare and the folk law of the hare, taking a piece of Wiltshire up to London. The design incorporates mystical scenes of the moon, stars and for the first time, crop circles; and further connecting to the hare through the fertility goddess from Celtic belief.
On the side of the hare in the eye, we have a reflection of the Elephant and Castle statue. Above the hare's head we have the 'hare in the moon' surrounded by the constellations of Lupus the Hare and the Plough, which represents the fields in Wiltshire. Going further around the trunk of the elephant we have Pegasus the horse, as we are in the white horse area. Above the floating eye, which also reflects the London Eye in the pupil, we have the final constellation Virgo, representing woman, fertility and harvest.
The woman represents the fertility goddess, which is itself a symbol of the hare. The hare was so powerfully worshiped in Celtic belief as the goddess of fertility that if you killed one the penalty was death. On the contours of the woman, written as graffiti art, are links and influences on Joanna's artistic journey of painting the hare, alongside alternative names that have been used throughout history for this elusive and mystical creature.
'Durer woz hare' is an allusion to Albrecht Durer - the artist who, in 1502, painted the hare and so became Joanna's very earliest influence in wanting to become an illustrator. Below '1502' is Durer's signature which he put on all his paintings.
'Masquerade' is a book written and illustrated by Kit Williams in the 80s, which was also inspirational.
'The Year of the Hare' is a link to the zodiac hare which was launched through Springwatch in 2006. The zodiac takes you from month to month on a journey of the hare through Wiltshire's wealth of mystical and spiritual landmarks.
Finally the name 'Sally' was used as a slang name for the hare, and 'Brodlokere' was also an old Celtic name for it. This latter term comprises of 'Brod' and 'with a stare' meaning 'eyes wide open' which refers to the old belief that the hare slept with his eyes open. This links in turn into the London Eye and the floating eye, and reminds us that we see rather more than in a mere literal sense.
The crop circles on the back of the elephant connect again with the fertility goddess through the fertility symbols it incorporates, and the owl crop circle further ties in with seeing at night and spiritual awareness.
“Finally I just want you to know I thoroughly enjoyed painting my Elephant 'Sally', it was painted during January when we were all snowed in in Wiltshire and around the country. I asked a friend to put me up on Marlborough High Street since the conditions were too treacherous to travel to my gallery on the High Street itself where I have a studio above my gallery . I found myself completely immersed in painting it as I was undisturbed since all the other shops around were closed because of the snow. The idea's flowed and developed further as I went along and I found the smooth shape of the Elephant easy to lean against as I painted. In such a quiet focused environment I painted most of 'Sally' in a week and a half and the whole experience was almost therapeutic painting something so large and so tactile.”
