Superior Man

Superior Man

Victoria and South Australia are the only states in Australia that allow jumps racing.  

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/jumps-racing-death-files.php

Sow crates - put some pork on your fork

Put some pork on your fork

"Most Australians are appalled by animal cruelty, yet are unaware that their supermarket purchases support one of the cruelest industries in the country"

"A day eventually comes when for the first time in her life she experiences sun on her back and fresh air to breathe.  What she doesn't know as she is loaded on that truck, so lame, ill or 'unproductive' that she is no longer capable of creating profit, is that it is also to be the last day of her life ...."


both quotes are from Animals Australia

A Peaceable Kingdom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFqRCc08V6k

"A peaceable kingdom" - just a short trailer

Second painting

For the inspiration behind this painting :

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/dairy.php

Bobby Calves - waste products of the dairy industry

“Farm animals are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined and, despite having been bred as domestic slaves, they are individual beings in their own right. As such, they deserve our respect. And our help. Who will plead for them if we are silent? Thousands of people who say they ‘love’ animals sit down once or twice a day to enjoy the flesh of creatures who have been treated with so little respect and kindness just to make more meat.”   

Jane Goodall

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/dairy.php

A light in the darkness

This is a very quick illustration that I did last week.  I am sending it as a 'thank you' to the diving team of the resort I visited recently.

It struck me that there is a real reverence for the ocean and its inhabitants in so many people. 

Death at Seaworld

This is a recent collage featuring the subject of cetaceans in captivity.

I obtained official Seaworld postcards, flags and stamps and used them with images of books and films that feature the not-so-well-known side of the captivity industry.

A fall from freedom examines how the corporate giant, Seaworld, obtained a lot of their 'stock'.

Death at Seaworld is a recently released book on just how Seaworld manages it's assets, for ultimately, that is what the captive cetaceans are.

The Seaworld products on the collage give a hint at the commercial side of what the corporate giant does.  This is balanced with the covers of the above productions showing the viewer that there is another side to the activities of any marine park.  There is also a photograph of an Orca swimming free in the ocean beside a sticker which boldly states "Shamu's Happy Harbor".

The work is surrounded by a quote from Jacques Coustea.  It says simply, No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea, and no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or those marine lands can be considered normal"

Reactions to 'Fergus McIver'

Wow, this illustration has opened up a hornets nest of reactions.

I get the impression that some of the audience think I actually made up this image and thoroughly enjoy illustrating the pain and torment some animals go through at the hands of us humans.

This is what is so powerful about art.  I referenced this image, the quote and the information from newspapers.  The ironic result of putting these ingredients together is purely to make the viewer consider their opinion on jumps racing.  My only personal statement was RIP because yes, I do think it's sad that such a beautiful young horse, died in such a way.

For the record, I actually intensely dislike some of the things I'm coming across in research as part of this project.  But if I ignore them, does that make them go away?  I have felt often that the subject is too hard and it has made my decisions on final works (rather than the background illustrations) very tricky.  Who wants to look at horror (because that's what some of this stuff is) on a gallery wall? 

My final works will be nothing like the illustrations.  My conviction was correct in that regard.

When this project concludes, if I have changed even one person's behaviour towards how they act and consume and how it impacts on the other earthlings we share this planet with, then I will have succeeded.

I could take the  "sick f*%*"  comments personally but I don't.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and beliefs and I respect that. 

If you don't like an image, ask yourself why?

Coalition for the protection of Racehorses

Why do Victoria and South Australia still allow jumps racing?

Heritage Hill Public Art project and more

My work, 'Her home is in the ocean', was one of the four artworks chosen to be represented outside the historic Dandenong property, Heritage Hill.  The original will not be displayed but instead, images of sections of the work.  A prominent part is the title in Japanese script at the bottom of the right hand side of the canvas. 

I've had some dialogue with Animals Australia and I'll be using some of their campaigns as a feature in both my illustrations and the final paintings and artwork.  Thanks to Sarah Evans at Animals Australia for her help.

I'm also going to be featuring the Australian horse racing industry in my work.  This will help raise awareness about what happens in this industry.  Some of the realities of this industry are quite eye-opening and dare I say, brutal.  I can't believe that I used to think nothing of participating in sweepstakes for 'the race that stops a nation'.  Jump racing is even worse.  As a rider and lover of horses, I find it heart breaking to see such magnificent animals as mere commodities.

On the practical front, I'm experimenting with other mediums which are producing enjoyable results, particularly collage and ink.  I'll post some images at a later date.

Official Save Japan Dolphins Australia Logo

I should have posted this some time ago.  It's a sticker for the Australian chapter of Save Japan Dolphins Australia.  I designed the logo and it is based on the official SJD logo.

Why 'her home is in the ocean"

This is a 1 metre square painting in oils.  The Japanese script is the title of the painting, "her home is in the ocean"

There is a promotional video by the Earth Island Institute which features some celebrities raising awareness about the Japanese dolphin drive and slaughter that takes place every year between September and March.  The catch phrase of this video was "his home is in the ocean".

While hunting cetaceans is defined as a 'cultural' activity by some Japanese, the present day reasons for this brutal slaughter of bottlenose, Rissos and common dolphins and on occasion false killer whales, is the harvesting of young live dolphins for sale to the captivity industry.

The dolphins that are chosen for sale to the captivity industry are predominantly female.  Hence the name of this piece.

These dolphins face a life in un-natural conditions in a concrete tank which no matter it's size, cannot compete with it's natural environment.  A dolphins main sense is sound.  It uses echolocation to survive.  A dolphin living in captivity is like a human living permanently in a place where the walls are made of mirrors.  Everything is distorted.  Most dolphins in captivity only live for a fraction of the lifespan they are capable of.

A single dolphin can be sold for up to US $250,000.  This is a very lucrative business for the "fishermen".

Dolphins family groups or pods are an inherent part of their life.  These dolphins witness the brutal slaughter of their pod members.  The slaughter is not humane.  They are stabbed continuously and drowned.  Some are even still alive while they are being cut up for food.

Dolphin and whale meat contains extremely high levels of mercury.  This is a fact that the Japanese government do not advertise to their own people!   As more people become aware of this, consumption has naturally declined.  Dolphin meat is therefore ground up and used as fertiliser to grow crops.  It is also used to bulk up cattle feed allowing the mercury to continue its journey through the food chain.

The Ultimate shared male activity

This is topical given that the Faroese slaughtered 120 Pilot Whales yesterday.  The title is a quote from a Faroese 'fisherman'

Big in Japan 2 an unsustainable industry

Big in Japan

Life and death on a Chinese Fur Farm

Her home is in the ocean

Staying on course

Struggling with doing things just because they're 'pretty' or fit a theme.

Appreciate and even like the technology but it's not what I want to invest my limited time in right now.

It's not an epiphany but I'm doing this project for a reason and I've wasted too much time being swayed from my course.

After a dose of Goodall, Singer and Pheonix, I'm pleased to report to myself that I'm back on track ...  this lady is not for turning.

after Miso ......

Been busy personally but I've been very inspired by the Miso workshop I attended recently;  been illustrating like mad

Cows, I have to say I really like cows

....  but not to eat!

Orcas, the apex predator

Serious dose of St Johns Wort

The last 2 weeks I've been hammering out ideas for final pieces and doing some additional research.  I'm taking serious exercise and the allowed daily dose of St Johns Wort to combat the potential depression that could arise from looking very closely at my chosen subject matter.  We humans sure do have a lot to answer for!!

Observation of shapes, surfaces, patterns and movement

coloured pencils

leopard - graphite

tail of sperm whale - graphite

Humpback flippers

bottlenose

Humpback

The sketchbooks are filling up gradually and now comes the tricky bit .........
These are only observations. The end results will bear no resemblance.

Easter already!!

Time has flown and things have been busy.

I had my head down for a good week and a half preparing my proposal for 'Mali in the City'.  Melbourne Zoo is celebrating its 150th anniversary and have 50 life-sized 'Mali' sculptures that need decorating.  Where possible, the Zoo is looking for conservation and environmental themes consistent with their strategy of saving threatened species and 'fighting extinction' commitment.  This fitted in nicely with my 'Earthling' project and so I've taken the plunge and my proposal arrived at the Zoo earlier this week.  There will be a lot of competition for this public art project but it feels good to have given it a go.  I have designed my elephant in such a way that it should be quite straightforward to paint it in a public space.  Here's hoping.  I should have a decision by early May.

I had also agreed to design a logo for the organisation, SAVE JAPAN DOLPHINS AUSTRALIA.  Save Japan Dolphins is a campaign conducted by the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute.  Its Director is Ric O'Barry.  SJD was formed to put an end to the Japanese drive fishery slaughter of dolphins and to stop the capture and live trade of dolphins to zoos and aquariums around the world.  

The work of Ric and the SJD team was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary THE COVE as well as Animal Planet Channel's Blood Dolphins series.

An Australian chapter was set up in Melbourne at the start of 2012 and I am involved in this.  The Australian logo design has now been approved by America and it will appear on the Australian Merchandise in the very near future.

I am also in the process of completing a large artwork called Her home is in the Ocean.  My references for this were from my own observations/sketches/photos of the dolphins here in Port Phillip Bay.  I also relied fairly heavily on the fantastic photographs taken by Charlie Phillips, a field officer for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.  Charlie is based at North Kessock on the Moray Firth in Scotland where I hail from.  I am very familiar with the Moray Firth Dolphins and have even 'adopted' one.  I hope to see Spirit and her calf when I visit later in the year.  Thanks so much to Charlie for allowing me to do this.

I will be using an image of this painting for another public art project here in Victoria and it will feature in my Advanced Diploma portfolio later in the year but eventually I hope to sell the painting and donate the proceeds to Save Japan Dolphins.

Happy Easter everyone. 

Through my involvement with Ric O'Barry's 'Save Japan Dolphins' organisation, I am now going to be designing logos for the Australian Chapter's merchandise. A big thanks to Libby Miller for giving me this great opportunity.  I am really happy that I can incorporate this into my project while hopefully increasing awareness about cetacean captivity and slaughter at the same time. 

Hello fellow Earthlings and welcome to my blog.

This blog will map the progress of my project that I'm undertaking for my Advanced Diploma of Creative Product Development.

THROUGH THE WINDOW - HUMANS AND OTHER EARTHLINGS explores the theme of how humans treat the world and specifically, the other inhabitants of the planet, the 'earthlings' as it were.

I'll be concentrating on themes such as 'extinction is forever', animal cruelty, and consumption of resources.

I want the viewer to look through the window and think about how we treat the other earthlings that we share the planet with.