You may have seen the stunning elephant installations return to London. Fifty of the spectacular elephants will ‘roam’ the streets of Chelsea, raising awareness of the Elephant Family trust and its CoExistence campaign for the preservation of our wildlife. In support of this organisation, we will be offering a donation of 20% of all sales on the Memories Collection until 23rd July inclusive.
CoExistence is an environmental art exhibition by Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective featuring 100 life size Asian elephants. The elephants have been created deep in the jungles of Tamil Nadu by Indigenous communities who live in close proximity to their real-life counterparts. Here, people and elephants coexist in denser populations than anywhere else in the world. The CoExistence campaign is a response to the increasing overlap between the human and animal world, which is in part responsible for the spread of deadly zoonotic diseases.
The campaign aims to trigger a moment of collective empathy for the world’s biggest and most intelligent land animal, like so many magical creatures, now find themselves living in human-dominated landscapes. Launched by the leading conservation Elephant Family charity, the campaign uses indigenous art to turn green spaces into examples of successful human-animal coexistence, both locally and globally – raising awareness and funds to make sure humans and wildlife can coexist better around the world. The elephants are hand made from lantana, an invasive weed whose removal from protected areas benefits wildlife.
The campaign marks a unique moment in time when a global reduction in human activity has had a positive effect on wildlife around the world. It has now been scientifically demonstrated* that the moment we lighten our footprint, wildlife flourishes and in doing so, transforms the health of the planet for all. Lockdown has shown us that coexistence with wildlife in human dominated landscapes is very much possible.
Projects made possible by CoExistence include the securement of wildlife corridors which enable safe movement for animals and people and the protection of vital tribal knowledge and livelihoods. You can support these pioneering projects by donating to the charity Elephant Family or by buying an elephant.
Kiki McDonough is delighted to be working in partnership with the Elephant Family trust and its CoExistence campaign – every purchase from our Memories collection will be aiding this wonderful initiative.
