Brindleyplace is proud to be supporting the Wild in Art and Birmingham Hospice ‘Bulls in the City’ Trail around Birmingham this Summer.
The activation will see artists decorating a bull modelled on the iconic Bullring bull and then the bulls will take up residence around the city from July.
By bringing a herd of uniquely designed bulls to Birmingham’s streets, the hospice aims to unite the community in a shared appreciation of art, culture, and philanthropy, all while raising crucial funds to provide expert, compassionate care for those at the end of life.
Ahead of the painting beginning we sat down with the artists who will be decorating our bull, Phillippa and Rachael Corcutt, and asked them a few questions.
Are you from Birmingham?
We are based in Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire.
Are you identical twins?
Yes
Do you have any other siblings?
Yes, we have two older brothers.
Where did you study?
We studied illustration at the University of Derby, where we both gained 1st Class Degrees. During the course we studied sequential illustration, editorial illustration and our main focus was illustration for children’s books.
When did you and your sister first get interested in art? Was it at the same time?
Since we can remember we have always enjoyed art and drawing, we also enjoyed creative writing at school and practical arts. We decided to we wanted a career in arts, so we decided to study illustration. In our work we like to create illustrations that tell a story, create intriguing characters and exciting narratives.
Favourite medium to use?
We enjoy experimenting with different mediums in our illustration work- from acrylics and gouache to inks and pencils. We have recently developed a love for using water soluble pastels. On the sculptures we paint for Wild in Art we use acrylics as these give a vibrant colour and a really good coverage.
Favourite thing you’ve ever produced?
We have had so many fantastic projects to work on from sculptures to books, our first ever sculpture was a ram for Derby and the largest sculpture we have worked on must have been the mammoth for Norwich. We are really looking forward to painting the bulls as they are such iconic sculptures.
We are currently writing and illustrating our own picture books which is exciting too.
We see you’ve worked with Wild in Art before – why do you like them?
Yes, we both enjoy painting Wild in Art sculptures, ever since our first trail. Working with Wild in Art has given us the confidence to really develop our art and its lovely seeing so many people enjoying these sculptures out on the trails and it’s also really nice that they raise lots of funds for charity too.
Do you work together or separately?
We both work together, we decided to form a collective together after university. It’s great to be able to work together on projects and bounce ideas off one another.
Why did you decide to paint Brindleyplace on your bull?
The design is inspired by the iconic canal network of Birmingham – we wanted to showcase one of the most popular waterside destinations – Brindleyplace and celebrate its links to the historic canal network as well as being a popular destination along the waterfront. The design also features iconic narrowboat art called Roses and Castles which was used to decorate narrowboats in the 19th century.
What do you like to do when you are not being artists?
We love baking- anything from cookies to bread- it’s a great way to relax and also a chance to get creative in the kitchen.
Check back as we will be documenting the progress that Phillippa and Rachael are making on the bull ahead of the launch in July.
