A PAIR of artists say they hope their cockney rhyming slang-inspired giraffe sculpture brought “fun and excitement” to the city streets this summer.

iLdikó Nagy and Martin McNally designed and painted a sculpture called ‘Have a Giraffe!’ for the Worcester Stands Tall trail.

The duo work to bring joy into everyday life through their art – and this is reflected in their giraffe, which features dozens of jokes.

Their sculpture is sponsored by Free Radio, which is a media partner with the trail alongside the Worcester News.

Worcester Stands Tall is a Wild in Art project, brought to the city by St Richard’s Hospice.

How do you feel to be a part of this project?

"We both feel privileged to be a part of Worcester Stands Tall and are happy to play a role in bringing fun and excitement to the City of Worcester."

Have you painted a sculpture for a Wild in Art trail before?

"One of us (Martin McNally) painted an owl for the Big Hoot project in Birmingham."

Tell me a little bit about your background as artists

"Martin comes from a fine art background and makes films, animations and illustrations. iLdikó Nagy has had five solo exhibitions both in the UK and Hungary. She has designed and created large scale decorative sculptures for festivals in the Midlands and illustrated a series of books and games for a Hungarian press company."

How would you describe your work?

"We have both been delivering arts projects for more than seven years, with a focus on engagement, sustainability and wellbeing. We believe that art should be all inclusive and engaging, and that injecting fun and laughter into everyday life is important to elevate, captivate and inspire joy. We bring together our wide range of skills to use the arts to promote sustainability, diversity and the nurturing of the world and its inhabitants. Our aim is to disrupt the mundane, rigid routine of life and to re-establish the vigour, the passion, and the sublime into the core of everyday living."

What inspired your giraffe design?

"In cockney rhyming slang 'have a giraffe' means to have a laugh. This giraffe is all about fun, interaction and laughter. Humour has a huge amount of positive effects on our hearts, minds and bodies – laughing makes us healthier and brightens up our day. We have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of painting an 8-ft giraffe! Having a giraffe standing around certainly brightens up our day, it has quite a presence and welcomes us every day with a smile."

What are you most excited about for the trail this summer? "We are excited to see all of the other giraffes when they are placed around Worcester as well as see how the public interact with our design. We hope our giraffe sparks joy and that the people of Worcester will ‘have a giraffe!'"

To find out more about Martin McNally and Ildikó Nagy’s work, visit mjsmcnally.wix.com/mixedmilk and ildikonagy.eu