Meet the Mammoth in the Market

Visitors to the town's new six-day covered market will be greeted by a giant Steppe Mammoth sculpture called Yuuki from Monday 27 June, as part of the Break charity's GoGoDiscover event.

The colourful creature has been sponsored by Norfolk firm Pentaco Construction, the lead building firm on the market project.

The installation is also being backed by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which operates the market, and stall owners, who are offering a special discount to people taking part in Break's GoGoDiscover trail. 

People using the GoGoDiscover app on their phones, available for £1.79 on the Google Play or Apple Store, will be able to claim a 5% discount at participating market stalls after 'collecting' the sculpture on the app. This works by entering a code found on the mammoth's plinth.

Yuuki has been designed and painted by tutor and artist Rachael Butler. The intricate artwork focuses on our impact on the environment.

Yuuki is named after the Japanese word for courage. The stunning sculpture presents two worlds: one sad and polluted, and the other more positive and sustainable. There are many ways of looking after our Earth and its land and creatures, with wind farms, solar panels, recycling, litter picking and tree planting serving as just a few examples. Yuuki reminds us of environment and the importance of sharing this beautiful world.

The sculpture sits on a wooden plinth created by the carpentry team who worked on the Great Yarmouth market project. The team have donated their own time to create the plinth and those for 23 similar sculptures, with Pentaco donating the materials.

Yuuki is part of the wider Break GoGoDiscover trail, which features 55 large T.rex dinosaurs in Norwich, 24 Steppe Mammoths across the Norfolk, and a 100 smaller Breakasaurus sculptures designed by schools and community groups.

Pentaco is also sponsoring a T.rex sculpture that is sited near Pulls Ferry in Norwich. The company is organising a 'mammoth cycle-ride' between the two sites in Great Yarmouth and Norwich on 10 July to raise further funds for Break.  The sponsored journey follows on from previous fundraising sleep out and fire walk events.

The GoGoDiscover sculptures will be in place until September 10, before being sold at auction at Norwich Cathedral on 28 September 2022.

Through donations, app downloads, events, merchandise sales and an auction of sculptures in September, the trail is aimed at raising vital funds to stamp out the mammoth expectations placed on young adults when they leave care. 

Pentaco managing director Gavin Napper said: "We are delighted to be supporting Break by sponsoring these two fantastic sculptures. It is particularly exciting to see the mammoth coming to Great Yarmouth market - I'm sure it will be a big hit with residents and visitors alike."

Peter Marron, GoGoDiscover Project Manager said: "We are so excited to be bringing sculptures back to every corner of our great county and look forward to seeing the buzz this fantastic Steppe Mammoth sculpture will bring to Great Yarmouth market. The sculptures have a serious job to do as well - every penny raised will benefit the young adults we work with, making sure that they have someone standing alongside them in whatever challenges they face."

A Great Yarmouth Borough Council spokesperson said: "It is great to be able to work with Pentaco to bring the popular Break sculpture trail back to Great Yarmouth, and to showcase it in the impressive new market building. The new more spacious, more accessible market gives us the chance to do things that just wouldn't have been possible before."