With the summer fast approaching, Scotland's biggest ever outdoor art exhibition is in motion. As I reported last month, I am very excited to be involved with the animal conservation organisation Elephant Family - my charity art tiger will be involved in this year's Jungle City exhibition which will be held at various venues across Edinburgh over the summer. 150 life size sculptures of crocodiles, elephants, hornbills, orangutans and tigers will be customised by artists and designers with the aim of raising awareness and support for these endangered species.
It's been a pleasure meeting a handful of the participating artists while I've been working on my design, Tribal Tigris, in the London studio. Check out the promotional video below which features some of the artists that include Martin Aveling, Rebecca Campbell, Nilesh Mistry and Ben Sanderson working on their animals.
My design was inspired by native drawings and markings that have commonly been understood to be signs of identity within tribes throughout history. Identity plays an important role in society today and the Tiger as a symbol is famously depicted in various forms such as logos and mascots: an irony when the importance of immortalizing the species through image is in reality being driven to extinction.
Tribal Tigris is composed of various markings painted by hand across the body of the tiger – including arrows which refer to its Persian derivative ‘tigris’ – to form a bold pattern of lines and accents that create an abstract narrative of exotic fantasy met with the harsh reality of survival.
With each artist sourcing inspiration from their own unique practice, Jungle City will guarantee an eclectic mix of public interventions from Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens to the Royal Mile during the Fringe Festival and throughout this summer in the run-up to a live auction in the autumn. Click here for more details about Elephant Family's work around the world or visit the official website for Jungle City where scheduled events and information will be posted for visitors and sponsors.
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