Ok, to say I’m obsessed with Pockets Warhol might be a little bit of an understatement, but you don’t meet a monkey who does paintings for charity everyday! His style is a bit more Pollock than Warhol, but his abstract pieces of art are colorful and raw. Pockets, who lives in Canada, was once a therapy animal eventually handed over to his current home, the Story Book Primate Sanctuary. Story Book is a beautiful space created to give primates a second chance after being research animals or victims of the exotic animal trade. It is also the only primate sanctuary in Canada. When Pockets came to Story Book they were quick to notice how smart he is. He would constantly be playing with toys to entertain himself, and since his handler was a big fan of primate art, it seemed worth a try on Pockets. It was love at first paint stroke! Now Pockets’s pieces are being used at charity auctions and sold to help support the sanctuary. To learn more about this adorable artist and Story Book Primate Sanctuary, please read our exclusive interview below.

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Foreword by Kira Bucca, Editor in Chief of Jejune Magazine.

Where are you based?
The sanctuary is based in Sunderland, Ontario – northeast of Toronto, Canada.

First, please tell us a little bit about Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, and what inspired you to create it?

The sanctuary was established in 2000 when the founder realized there was a need to create a home for primates that were victims of the exotic pet trade and unregulated roadside zoos.

We are currently home to 25 monkeys and lemurs so many of whom have suffered prior coming to us. As these primates cannot be released into the wild, we endeavor to give them a life where they are respected and cared for by giving them appropriate food, housing, and enrichment.

Primate Sanctuaries are not very common. Was Story Book Farm challenging to set up? How do you get most of your primates?
Story Book is the only monkey sanctuary in Canada.

There are many challenges in looking after primates. We have a variety of species of monkeys and lemurs each species having specific dietary needs, spatial requirements and different challenges for enrichment. Our smallest monkey is Rudy, a squirrel monkey, who weighs just a little over half a kilogram and our largest is Pierre, an olive baboon, who weighs over 20 kilos, and consequently, the care they need is quite different.

Another challenge is that they are wild animals and so there is a certain level of danger in working with them and keeping them and the people working with them safely.

Most of our primates have been victims of the exotic animal trade. Many have been pets that have been surrendered to us by their owners, as in the case of Pockets. Others have been seized from their owners for a variety of reasons. For example, Darwin, the IKEA monkey (who became a worldwide sensation when he was found wandering around a parking lot wearing a shearling coat over eight years ago) was surrendered to us because exotic pet ownership was not allowed where he was being kept. Unfortunately, there are only two provinces in Canada that ban exotic pet ownership province-wide.

The other aspect of the exotic animal trade is the existence of unregulated zoos where the animals are often subjected to a life of cruelty and neglect. One of our earlier residents, Julien, a Japanese macaque, was kept outdoors year-round with minimal shelter from the heat or the cold.

We also have several monkeys who were used in research. We are able to offer them a life where they have space to climb and jump and swing and can make their own decisions whether they want to be indoors or out.

Do you have any crazy stories you can tell us about how you happened upon one of your animals?
Unfortunately, most of the stories are sad. What keeps us going is seeing the difference we make in their lives over time.

One example is Cheeko, (Pockets’ next-door neighbor and a fellow capuchin). He was kept as an attraction at a retail outlet and his home was a birdcage. He was fed foods totally inappropriate for a monkey – bacon, eggs, and baby food. When he was surrendered to the sanctuary he was found to have a mouthful of rotten teeth and gums directly as a result of his diet. We arranged for extensive dental work and he ended up having about 12 extractions. Now, although he doesn’t have many teeth left, he can enjoy foods appropriate for a capuchin – lots of fresh vegetables, some fruit and nuts, and the occasional boiled egg.

Rudy, the squirrel monkey, was just a baby when he was found in a storage unit full of exotic animals. He was close to death – he had self-mutilated so that he had no hair on his tail, his hands and feet, which should have been a bright yellow, were without color and he was found to be suffering from liver failure. He has now grown up to be an energetic, vocal, and colorful monkey thanks to the care we have been able to give him.

While you have a lot of amazing animals at your sanctuary, one of them is famous! Can you tell us a little bit about Pockets Warhol and his backstory? Where was he before he joined Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary and how did he come to join the sanctuary?
Charmaine - Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary is home to some amazing and happy monkeys, Darwin the Ikea Monkey as well as Pockets Warhol, the most famous painting monkey in the world. Pockets was a former pet in Seattle, Washington before he was sent to British Columbia where he spent the majority of his years with a very kind woman as a therapy monkey. She realized that monkeys had specific needs and do not make good pets and searched to find a sanctuary where they could live a more natural life. She arrived with Pockets and stayed with him until he made the transition to the start of sanctuary life. Although he was very loved, Pockets was part of the exotic animal trade which is rampant. Hopefully, in time, things will change as his life really should have been with a troop in a protected forest.

Pockets is a Capuchin monkey. Can you tell us a little bit about Capuchin monkeys?
Pockets is a New World monkey, which would be from Central & South America. Capuchins are considered to be the most intelligent of New World monkeys and highly social so it is no surprise that Pockets found painting so fascinating.

Pockets is quite the artist! How did he get interested in painting?
When Pockets arrived at the sanctuary in 2009, I noticed how intelligent he was as he was very interactive with toys and I would spend a majority of time playing with him to keep him busy and happy as it was an adjustment for him coming to the sanctuary. I had been volunteering at the Toronto Zoo in the holding area of the orangutans & gorillas and was able to see these apes doing artwork. I am a huge lover of primate artwork and had accumulated many pieces so was aware of primate intelligence. I started to introduce children's paints to Pockets to see if he would be interested in this as a form of enrichment and because I had seen a resemblance to Andy Warhol when Pockets had arrived, I started to use the color palette in Warhol's work and named several paintings after his collection which had accumulated over a year. A couple of friends offered to help raise funds for the sanctuary and offered space at Sadie's Diner in Toronto to put these paintings up for auction. Pockets' story was covered on the front page of the Toronto Star resulting in media coverage around the globe which resulted in Pockets' painting "David Greybeard" which I presented to Dr. Jane Goodall along with our current Veterinarian Dr. Izzy Hirji who had organized this amazing introduction.

Jejune loves that Martin Gore commissioned Pockets to do the cover art for his new EP "The Third Chimpanzee". Can you tell us a little bit about this experience?
Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) contacted the sanctuary with a request to commission Pockets to be part of his project of his new EP "The Third Chimpanzee" and was hoping for Pockets to complete a painting for this. I asked Martin which colors he would like to use, the size, and what type of canvas, and then from there we were in touch regularly on completing the project.

Did Pockets use anything for inspiration for this piece?
Martin was inspired by one of his favorite British artists, Fiona Rae, and sent me a painting that reflected the colors in Fiona's artwork. I suggested to Martin that Pockets complete five paintings for this exciting project as this way he could choose which painting would suit the album best. We worked together on the colors for each painting and using the same chosen colors, but switching sometimes to more blue, pink, green, etc to give each painting a different effect. I asked Martin to name each painting and he explained what each name meant to him and why. The cover of the album was named "Breaking the Fourth Wall" after the first painting and the back of this album was the third painting which was named "Fiona". Martin has these two paintings hanging in his home now which is a wonderful honor for Pockets. Martin has used all of these paintings in his videos Mandrill and Howler as well as an art print in the album. Martin is releasing a remix EP of "The Third Chimpanzee" on July 2nd with Pockets' second and fourth paintings. The fifth painting "Smoking Charlton" was recently auctioned with items kindly donated by Martin which sold for over $3,000.00 USD which continues to help our monkeys at the sanctuary. This unbelievable project has resulted in coverage of Pockets' art around the globe and covered in Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, Mojo UK, Musikexpress and so many other great magazines. Martin has been wonderful to work with as well as his record company Mute UK who often share Pockets' artwork. Pockets recently did a painting of their logo with thanks and they are thrilled with this. I am so delighted that Martin continues to support Pockets' work on this upcoming remix EP as well.

Can you walk us through a painting session with Pockets? Is he fast/slow? Does he have a favorite color?
Pockets is actually very fast during his painting sessions as this is a very happy process for him, much like a child doing artwork & and being excited about creating something new. Pockets do seem to respond to bright, happy colors, especially red.

We see that Pockets recently did a piece that is up for auction to help Feline Friends London. Can you tell us a little bit about this partnership and why Feline Friends London is important to you?
Yes, Pockets recently did a beautiful painting of Ricky Gervais' & Jane Fallon's cat "Pickle". I have made a connection & have become friends with this wonderful group of volunteers as well as a number of other animal welfare organizations that Ricky & Jane lend their support. I try to send paintings periodically to other animal rescues to help highlight their work as we are all connected with trying to help each other by bringing awareness to so many animals in need of rescue. I contacted Jane as they have been involved in the past with Pockets & they have a few of his artworks in their home & they follow Pockets on his social media. Jane suggested that Feline Friends would be grateful for this artwork to help them raise funds. This recent auction of Pockets' painting of Pickle with a signed photo of Ricky & Pickle has brought in $5,600.00 Cdn. that will help the sanctuary rescue vulnerable cats across London. They are so happy with the result of this and I am sure Pockets would be thrilled to know that he is doing wonderful paintings to help many animals. Pockets have also recently completed four collaboration paintings with Go-Go's girl, artist, and animal activist Belinda Carlisle to help raise funds for Animal People Alliance, an organization in Thailand & India helping street animals, and our Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary.

The piece Pockets did for the auction is a portrait of Ricky Gervais' & Jane Fallon's much-loved rescue cat "Pickle"! Do you show him a picture and see what he creates. How does this work?
I chose the colors related to Pickle and offered them to Pockets which resulted in this beautiful abstract. Pockets is unaware of any connection to pictures other than he sees the colors of paints and then creates these abstract pieces.

A few years ago I tried to turn my cat into an artist. I had to find vegetable-based paint. What type of paint does Pockets use?
Pockets use a variety of colorful non-toxic children's paints as he sometimes tends to put the paint in his mouth and I am able to clean him up easily after using these paints.

Covid has been a tricky time for everyone. Was Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary impacted? How did you work to keep the primates safe from covid?
The sanctuary has been impacted in many ways. Because monkeys can also contract COVID, we have imposed strict measures to protect them and everyone who works at the sanctuary. This has meant we have fewer volunteers working to help look after the monkeys. We have also had to cancel our Open Days. These are seven days a year (once a month from April to October) when the public can visit the sanctuary and meet our monkeys and lemurs. We have also had to postpone planned fundraising events.

Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary is such a beautiful place, how can our readers support you?
Thank you, the sanctuary is a beautiful home for monkeys (and lemurs) who deserve a life better than they had before they came to us.

Of course, monetary donations are always welcome. We love to receive food packages of treats for the primates such as walnuts, peanuts, raisins, dried fruit. At the moment we also need baby toys and unbreakable baby mirrors as part of our program to provide enrichment for the monkeys. I usually go to Value Village and can pick up bags of toys for just a few dollars but haven’t been able to do that for months.

How have you been staying positive during a shelter in place?
We just continue to strive to make a difference in these primates’ lives. We recently introduced three individual Japanese macaques to make up a family. Maximus (approximately 8 years old) was a pet who possibly had not been in the presence of another monkey all his life until now, Lexy (an older female) who recently lost her partner Julien and Darwin, approximately the same age as Max. It’s gratifying to see them grooming each other – the height of social acceptance in the primate world.

Please list any websites and/or social media that you would like Jejune to promote:

www.storybookmonkeys.org – here people can learn more about our primates, make donations or purchase items from our online gift shop.

We can be reached at sbfpsanctuary@gmail.com if readers have any questions or to subscribe to our newsletter – online or by mail – or are interested in volunteering,

To learn more about Pockets and the Story Book Primate Sanctuary, please follow them via the below platforms: Facebook: @sbfps , @pocketswarhol , @ikeamonkeydarwin
Instagram: storybookmonkeys , pocketswarhol
Twitter: @SBFPrimateS , @PocketsWarhol

Pockets Warhol Will Paint His Way Into Your Heart