‘Art, Heart, Earth’
To support the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF’s) biodiversity efforts, visual artists Elmer Borlongan, Geraldine Javier, Mark Justiniani, José John Santos III and National Artist Benedicto
“BenCab” Cabrera created limited edition pieces of sculpture inspired by the organization’s iconic panda logo.
Five pieces of sculpture were shown as the initial project of “Art, Heart, Earth,” a WWF-Philippines campaign to work with the cultural sector done in collaboration with Tin-aw Art Management Inc. and Secret Fresh Gallery.
WWF-Philippines is the 26th national organization in the WWF network, where it is also a member since 1997.
WWF-Philippines president and CEO Joel Palma said, “The Philippines is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries in the world, home to more than half of the world’s species. We are very excited to have five of the nation’s top artists join our battle to preserve nature in the face of climate change. We hope that through art, we continue to raise awareness on the urgent need to step up environmental action to protect earth’s biodiversity.” BenCab’s Kapit-Bisig and Borlongan’s Wildlife
Rehabilitator highlight the importance of man living in consonance with nature. Justiniani’s Kugos (Carry) presents a caretaker wearing a panda suit (pretending to be the parent) to care for and protect the orphans of the species. Santos’ idea of saving and salvaging materials through his art is evident in his piece titled Natural Selection while Javier’s work titled Home stresses the importance of a sustainable environment.
WWF’s art ambassadors are united in their call for people to save the environment. Borlongan lives 10 minutes away from the West Philippine Sea where he witnessed how dynamite fishing can harm both the environment and fishermen who have lost limbs due to this practice.
BenCab and Javier shared that plastic waste is among their most urgent concerns. BenCab said, “We have to have discipline in cleaning up our surroundings and planting trees.”
Javier started planting vegetables in her home to help provide food and additional income for the community living near her. She also lessens plastic consumption by bringing reusable containers, baskets or eco-bags to use for her groceries or at the market.
Santos made his pieces from discarded materials and turned them into something meaningful. He said, “I view this process as saving and salvaging these materials from their eventual death or uselessness. And this is where I see a certain parallel with the concerns of WWF in saving nature, saving wildlife and saving the world as a more general concern.”
Justiniani added, “If you think about the world, it will survive…so the environmental issue is actually a human issue. If we don’t take care of it, we will lose ourselves. We know we need to take care of the environment because that is our future, the future of human beings.” (For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ WWF.Philippines/.)