Introducing Orang-utans

To progress on the development of my project, I have decided to focus on threats to orang-utans in the wild. The threats include habitat loss through deforestation, the illegal pet trade and agriculture for palm oil. These facts were all sourced from the World Wildlife Fund website and Orangutan Conservancy.

The choice to focus on orang-utans came from when I initially looked into endangered species of the Sumatran forest. Then when I went to Chester Zoo to take primary source imagery I felt I sympathised with the animals, especially one who was by the glass and looked to somber and sad.

Although the animal was hard to photograph due to the reflection from the windows, I cannot explain how emotional this made me feel, how sad it was to see such a grand animal being observed in a cage which resembled not even a small portion of his original habitat. This made me want to make a change even more through my illustrations so that perhaps people will become aware that these animals were put on the Earth to achieve more than be viewed as an object in a zoo. If people are ignorant to the threats of orang-utans in the wild then they will be destined for a life in containers until they eventually fade from this planet entirely.

Here is a couple of experimental illustrations defining the character of this beautiful creature:

WWF Donation Box

As part of the final exhibition, I wanted to include a World Wildlife Find donation box alongside my displayed work to encourage people to donate to the charity. Choosing the WWF to fund raise for was an easy decision as I have based much of my research on their website. My aim is to hopefully encourage people to want to make a change through my artwork and therefore donate as little as possible. 

After contacting the WWF through Twitter I emailed the contact given and was pleased to received a positive response and it seems that it will be possible to get a couple of donation boxes.

I gave them my address and received the boxes soon after I contacted the charity. Here is one of the boxes pieced together, I received two others which I can display with my exhibition.

Inspired by Campaign

Researching animal rights has made me realise how huge the problem is not only in the UK but also worldwide. Since the completion of my dissertation about animal rights, I have taken it upon myself to stop eating meat for as long as I can in aid of my project. As an avid meat eater it will be interesting to see how long I will be able to cope before I run out of meals... The point is, through research it has changed my own viewpoint of the way in which animals are treated my humans and therefore I hope to transfer this desire for change through my illustrations. A small step in the right direction is better than being ignorant to any of the issues at all.

Since my new project is about animal rights in regards to global issues, specifically endangered species, I found an inspiring way of campaigning by the WWF.

WWF Origami Campaign

The idea here by the WWF is to generate an interactive campaign method to raise awareness about the issues with a main aim for a donation from the viewer. This simple yet innovative campaign idea not only involves the viewer but allows them to make a direct connection with the animals who are endangered. Varying levels of difficulty mean that the origami is aimed at a range of younger and older viewers. The effort put in to making the origami proves to the viewer how little time it takes to make an impact through giving just a small amount of their time. Involving the viewer is an effective tactic for keeping the viewer interested and making the app available on a variety of technology devices aids the campaign to be accessible to a large amount of potential viewers who may donate to making a change.