Sending a conservation message through art
Conservation messages take many forms. We are all horrified by statistics of the numbers of rhinos killed by poachers every day – forget about in a year.
We see shocking photographs of hunters standing with foot atop a fallen elephant proudly showing off to the world. There are many articles in scientific journals and on social media conveying to us in words the perilous state of our planet.
Local artist MJ Hooper, however, has chosen to send her conservation message through the medium of art. Gaining inspiration from classical paintings, she has recreated the images as charcoal drawings – and added commentary in pastel col-our about the destructive impact of human behaviour on the planet.
Venus weeps for our oceans
In classical mythology, Venus was born of sea-foam and was presented as essential to the generation and balance of life. A very sound environmental objective.
‘The Birth of Venus’ by Sandro Botticelli, painted in the 15th century, is probably one of the most famous paintings in the world. It depicts a beautiful Venus, rising from the sea in a scallop shell, her hair gently blowing in the wind.
MJ Hooper has taken inspiration from this painting to illustrate the uncomfortable realities of the environmental degradation we see in the 21st century. In her charcoal drawing
MJ shows the scallop shell rising on a sea of dead fish and trawlers denuding the sea of
fish.
We now know that 40% of fish caught worldwide is by-catch that is thrown back into the sea, either dead or dying. MJ further emphasises the environmental message by introducing pastel colours to the black on white drawing to highlight unsustainable fishing.
She calls it ‘Venus Wept’.
Wildlife execution
Many of us would recognise another Old Master, ‘The Shooting of the Rebels 3 May 1808’ completed by the Spanish artist, Francisco Goya, in the early 19th century. The painting commemorates Spanish resistance to Napoleon’s armies after the French occupation in 1808.
Translated into today’s realities, MJ shows one figure being executed – not a rebel, but in my interpretation a person, arms extended, protecting wildlife. On average 55 elephants are killed in Africa every day, and 1 700 tigers killed in 5 years, but the most poached animal in the world is the critically endangered pangolin, whose flesh is considered a delicacy in many parts of Asia.
MJ calls this work ‘The Poacher’s List October 2017’.
Tourist Overload
In the Overstrand, we do our best to attract tourists, since nature tourism is the basis of the local economy. However, there is a very delicate balance between sustainable and unsustainable tourism. When do tourists start to do more harm than good by destroying the very things they came to experience?
The negative effects of the tourist boom are already felt in many parts of the world. Authorities in Thailand have decided to close indefinitely a beautiful bay made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach until it recovers from years of environmental damage caused by too many tourists.
On some days Venice is swamped by more than 40 000 cruise ship passengers. And the locals are starting to rebel – with good reason. Apart from the environmental damage they cause through consumption and littering, the islands are in danger of sinking further from the sheer human mass.
Tourism, especially from the Far East, is set to increase dramatically over the next decades. Apart from the direct impact of the mass of humanity, the indirect carbon miles and other costs to the environment are massive.
MJ’s charcoal drawing was inspired by a painting of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice by Canaletto. Huge cruise ships are looming over the scene, and the crowds, highlighted in pastel, are swarming onto the piazza. Are they the tourists or the locals in protest? It matters not. The message is clear.
MJ calls this work ‘Wish You Weren’t Here’.
Plastic Pollution
Plastic is one of the most serious threats facing the ocean and the wildlife in it. Between five and thirteen million tonnes of plastic end up in the sea every year. It is estimated that by 2050 the weight of plastic in the sea will be greater than that of fish. That’s a lot if you consider how light plastic is.
The plastic does not float around harmlessly. We have all seen horrendous photographs of animals caught in plastic nooses, turtles with plastic straws up their noses and dead animals, from whales to birds, with stomachs full of plastic which they mistook for food and then starved to death.
Inspired by the Rembrandt painting ‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp’, MJ depicts the dire consequences of our plastic scourge. A dead dolphin, with a stomach full of plastic, is being dissected. All around more bits of plastic are highlighted in colour.
MJ calls this work ‘The Lesson on the Consequence of Plastic Pollution’.
We need to spread the conservation message by all possible media. Can high art be one of these? I think so.
The drawings by MJ Hooper are on exhibit at the FynArts Gallery until 10 December.