Elephant: My Life Is Not Your Status Symbol

Elephant - MY LIFE IS NOT YOUR STATUS SYMBOL speaks directly to the market demand for Ivory.  A baby elephant lies over her dead mom, murdered for her ivory, while the ivory carvings of the eight Chinese immortals ironically stand prominently across the scene.  The caption, “My Life is not your status symbol” is a plea to value life, all life more than monetary gain or status.  New found wealth amongst the Chinese middle class has created a huge demand for ivory products for nothing more than wealthy status symbols. This is fueling massive poaching operations across Africa despite legal efforts to contain the trade. To kill one of Earth’s most beautiful, majestic creatures for a small carving to boost your cultural status is about as inhumane as it gets.  It’s time to speak the truth and expose those that feed the ivory market, 

 

Artist: Rob Whitehair

Digital mixed media: Pencil on Procreate, Photoshop, Acrylic