Giant gorilla statue made of spoons unveiled for Uri Geller

Creation is made from 40,000 spoons

Sculptor Alfie Bradley with his creation (British Ironworks Centre)

A gigantic gorilla statue made of spoons for the entertainer Uri Geller has been unveiled by Prince Michael of Kent.

After five months of building, the final 12 ft statue is made from 40,000 spoons which were donated from across the world and local schools.

Cutlery has travelled all the way from China, India, Kenya, Armenia and Tahiti to the British Ironworks Centre in Oswestry where the statue is displayed.

Uri Geller, the magician and psychic who is best known for his spoon-bending, also donated a spoon which was originally owned by Winston Churchill.

Geller will transport the statue back to his Berkshire home on May 28 where it will be exhibited alongside his other unusual art-work, including a spoon covered Cadillac.

Geller had originally planned to transport the statue home in a net attached to a helicopter, in true King Kong style, but due to safety concerns, this will no longer be permitted.

Uri Geller with a cake celebrating the statue (British Ironworks Centre)

The entertainer said that he hoped the statue would eventually be displayed in a location which was more accessible to the general public.

Geller praised the statue as “an amazing piece of art,” adding that it “will not raise money for charity. It will do something better. It will amaze sick children.”

The statue’s sculptor, Alfie Bradley, who constructed the piece of art-work from scratch, told the BBC he thought of the art-work as “a protector” of children because the spoons were donated from schoolchildren across the world.

Although the gorilla was commissioned by Geller, it was funded by the British Ironworks Centre and its managing director, Clive Knowles, insists the statue was constructed for the wider British public.