Title
Creation Date
2014
Preview
Medium
acrylic on illustration board
Description
Dimensions: 10" x 8"
Rights
© Ashley Clark, 2014. Photo credit: Sarah Paetel.
Keywords
drawing, animals, activism
2014
acrylic on illustration board
Dimensions: 10" x 8"
© Ashley Clark, 2014. Photo credit: Sarah Paetel.
drawing, animals, activism
Artist Statement
I thoroughly enjoy editorial illustrations. The two paintings I made are my renditions of two unrelated articles written about the cruelties that animals have faced both in the past and recently. I hope the viewer walks away with their own interpretations from all of my paintings, and hopefully advocate based on their own feelings.
The first work entitled, “The 'Harvest'” is based off of a more recent article about the harvesting and smuggling of Narwhal tusks into the United States. I was horrified after learning of the agonizing circumstances in which these tusks were obtained and I couldn't ignore the question, “Would people buy these tusks if they knew the pain they caused?” It then dawned on me that these tusks were sold because of their unrivaled beauty with no regard to the manner of which they were harvested. I decided to bridge that gap between cruelty and beauty, to connect the two in the painting. The medium used is acrylic on illustration board.
The second work entitled, “Rabbit Island” portrays an island in Japan that was used to test mustard gas on rabbits during WWII. Decades later there is still a large population of wild rabbits roaming the island. They are no longer the subject of inhumane testing and have become a local tourist attraction. This article stood out because it conveyed an ironically happy ending despite its origins. The medium used is acrylic on illustration board.