I am very happy to share that one of my sketches, Marina Bay Sands - Rewilded, won the "Rising Young Artist" award in SIAC (Singapore International Art Competition), 2024.
L to R: Marin Bay Rewilded artwork © Ayan Kamath Mehra, 2024, Rising Young Artist Certificate & Medal, Chinese Translation of artwork
My message:
As human populations continue to grow exponentially, more and more natural land that other species call home is being destroyed. Unfortunately, most of this population growth is happening in places rich in wild habitats, such as in Africa and Asia. Therefore, for the sake of our planet’s intricate systems of life, humans need to come up with creative solutions to coexist with wildlife.
Modernity and wilderness do not have to be oxymorons. Instead, our bright future needs to embrace our wild roots. In my sketch, I symbolize this by showing the Marina Bay area, rewilded. The iconic building is adorned with greenery, and animals now extinct or scarce in Singapore, like the Malayan Tiger, the Raffles Banded Langur and Asian Elephants, reappear, owning the land as much as humans do.
While this idyllic future is just a dream today, I believe the humans of Singapore and other nations need to start planning a rewilded world so that generations to come will not be alone in a barren planet.
This year, in a very special collaboration, the SIAC winners were exhibited at the Yan Huang Art Museum, Beijing in June. This exhibition encourages young artists across the world to share ideas and creativity, while advocating for positive change.
L to R: Yan Huang Art Museum, SIAC Exhibition Pictures
To make an even greater difference to the cause of rewilding our planet, this award winning sketch is on sale in the savewildlife.art shop. If you are interested in supporting wildlife conservation through art, please click on the link to purchase this. 100% of the proceeds from this artwork will go towards wildlife conservation, in adopting endangered animals in Africa and India; or funding art and wildlife conservation workshops in underprivileged schools through the Tiger's Forest project, a project in collaboration with the Born Free Foundation and Drawing for the Planet.
Thank you once again for your generous continued support for my project and wildlife conservation around the globe.
Well done!