Arca de Não é [Ark of it’s No(ah)t] was my first exhibition and it was inspired by the International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22nd).
The idea for this exhibition was born out of a portrait I did of a tiger. I thought the illustration was impactful and would work perfectly in a group of animal portraits. However, I needed more substance, in order to create a full exhibition.
I wanted to do something that went beyond that simple idea and that could really pass a message I identified with. Through animal portraits, I discovered a more profound component of englobing questions of climate change and sustainability. I wanted to pass the message to the audience that our action is late and urgent.
If only it was actually just a flood, but it’s not. The overexploitation of ecosystems, pollution and climate change caused a fell by 68% of the population of vertebrate species between 1970 and 2016. All in 46 years alone.
Arca de Não é [Ark of it’s No(ah)t] is a visual narrative that reflects about the impact human action has on biodiversity. The ten illustrated animals, five living in the Iberian territory, five living somewhere else in the world, represent how quick species are vanishing. The goal is the realization that it is urgent to act now.
Something important to highlight from this exhibition is the fact that the originals were corrupted. It's only possible to view the whole illustration in the copies. This is something I've thought through. The metaphor consists on the idea that us, humans, have reached an evolutional and technological point where we can create records and reproductions of any object, but that doesn't undo our real actions that at this pace will keep injuring the ecossystems. And corrupting biodiversity corrupts our future in the planet.
The sale of each original artwork will result in a 10€ donation for ANP | WWF PortugalThe sales of reproduction will result in 5€. They are available at Padaria Águas Furtadas' online shop. here.
Press
Público: Em Arca de Não é, vemos dez animais em vias de extinção a desaparecer
Jornalismo Porto Net: Esta exposição mostra que “temos de fazer o nosso melhor” para travar a “Arca de Não é”