Haulin Dirt

Monday 12 December 2011

Singapore 2011 Elephant Parade @ Vivo City

Elephant Parade is the world’s largest open air art exhibition of decorated elephant statues which aims to create public awareness as well as to raise funds for the conservation of the Asian elephants which are in danger of extinction (see: http://elephantparade.com/).

 
"Roses Delight" by Pimprapa Dumdej
(When I think about happiness, I think of roses. When I think about roses, I think of love. When I think about elephants, I feel love and happiness. -- Pimprapa Dumdej)
                                                                                  
 "Nana" by Bobby Chinn & Le Quang Ha
(The inspiration comes from my late Chinese grandmother, who was a strong woman and led a privileged life in Shanghai – only to lose everything during the Japanese occupation of China in World War II. She immigrated to the United States as a refugee and had to start all over with nothing. She was a great cook and taught me the love and appreciation of food as well as her cooking techniques, so I wanted to honor her. -- Bobby Chinn)

"Miss India" by Nut Thamrongpittayanan

After successful elephant parades in Europe - with Rotterdam as the starting point in the year 2007; Antwerp in 2008; Amsterdam in 2009; Emmen, London and Bergen in 2010; Heerlen, Copenhagen and Milan for the first 3 quarters of 2011; the elephant art statues go to Singapore as their first stop as they move their way to Asia!

"Hennaphant" by Jonathan Ching
(Elephants are universally very charming animals. I focused on the Henna to show how elephants are revered in India, infused in their culture and religion. -- Jonathan Ching) 
    
The 100+ brightly decorated elephant statues are placed and located in various parts of Singapore since November 11, 2011 and will stay in the Lion city until January 12, 2012. Vivo City is one of the prime locations of these colorful elephants. Hendrik was there to see this art exhibition with a cause.

Hendrik and Lola with "Christmas Baubles" by TANGS

"Abril" by Eva Armisen
(It was an enjoyable adventure to paint Abril in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The inspiration came directly from the elephants and the nature where they live. They are wonderful animals and I am happy to have the opportunity to help them by collaborating with Elephant Parade. This artist is represented by AndrewShire Gallery. -- Eva Armisen)

"Lives to Share, Lives to Spare" by Laura Seeley
(The verse addresses the plight of the Asian elephant, and what a precious life it is to spare. Also, that cats are heralded as having nine lives, thus, having those extra lives to share with those other animals in need, (in this case, the elephant) as well as their feline survival instincts to fend off zpredatory issues. -- Laura Seeley)

After a couple of photo taking with the colorful elephants, the 3 of us (Lola, Hendrik and Mommy) headed to Marché, a Swiss restaurant located at the 3rd floor of Vivo City, for our afternoon snack. Lola specifically requested this place as she found Marché's desserts to be appetizing, and so wanted to have a dose of sugar that afternoon.

Hendrik took this photo - his chocolate cake and Lola's apple pie behind

 This look says he enjoyed his cake very much! =)

 Now that Hendrik's done and fully satisfied with his afternoon snack, he's ready to see the rest of the elephants...

"Turtlefan" by Opas Chomchean
(My design resembles my home in the eastern part of Thailand. There, the late evening scenery by the river always includes wild turtles and lightning bugs. -- Opas Chomchean)

"Punk" by Narong Wannasa
(The fear that evil creatures evoke in darkness and nightmares should be equal to the fear of a world without elephants. -- Narong Wannasa)

"Kebaya" by Pitakarn Pongwarut
(Traditional Singaporean colors and design patterns. -- Pitakarn Pongwarut)

 "Amazon" by Thiti Suwan
(The lushness and diversity of Thailand's rainforests. -- Thiti Suwan)

 Lola with "The Elephant and the Cat" by Paul Koh
(Just as the Elephant Parade travels from country to country, 'The Elephant and the Cat' is inspired by the notion of us living beings as travelers on a journey. Metaphorically, it puts the wild Asian elephant and the city cat as travel companions traversing the beauty of this planet. The very essence of travel, the intuitive closeness to nature as well as the natural bond between the travelers is embodied in the paintings within the elephant. Hopefully, the moment we stop to look at the elephant is also the very moment we can stop to encounter each other, to meet, to love and to share. -- Paul Koh)

 "Lily" by Eric Foenander
(I just wanted to create a very organic camouflage pattern utilizing bananas, banana leaves and banana blossoms as banana trees are part of the Asian elephant’s diet. I didn’t want to get too preachy with anything, so I opted to go with beautifying the exterior of the elephant stemming from a simple fact about Asian elephants. -- Eric Foenander)

"Broken Pixels" by WORK
('Broken Pixels' was reconstituted using WERK magazine covers. The images were transferred onto the elephant sculpture by hand. Like every issue of WERK magazine, it was created with new print and design technology, but the finishing process was completed by hand. -- WORK)

"Bimbs" by Jaime Pacena II
(Inspired from the idea of elephants dipping into mud to bathe and to refresh, but mine is dipping into different colors of paint. These paints represents different nations, different ideas, different disciplines, principles, emotions, etc. In a much deeper sense it represent the world we live in, presented as lines intersect each other like lives intertwined and ideas interconnected. Making new forms, conflicts and probable resolutions as lines touch each other and continues the flow or colors complimenting each other to form new perspectives. -- Jaime Pacena II)

"Leghilacquarama" by Rabarama
(Rabarama finds inspiration in water, an element necessary for the survival of any species, making it a container for life. In tune with the project for the protection of Asian elephants, Rabarama in collaboration with laghilà (an Italian designer) covered this elephant with a neoprene suit, whose original function is as a container for the collection of this essential element. -- elephantparade.com)

As mentioned, other than Vivo City there are over a hundred equally well-decorated elephant statues that swarm the streets of Singapore. The Elephant Parade is indeed one of the grandest and colorful outdoor exhibition in the city.

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