How can people of faith take action in their personal lives and communities? Lead by example. I have a great empathy with and respect for the kindness, mercy and compassion espoused by the stories about Jesus. To be a vegan in thought and deed seems to me to be perfectly in accordance with the principles of the Christian faith.
Meat - A simple idea in which I just wanted to make the visceral/visual
statement that ALL the meat we eat was once a baby.
Tell us a bit about yourself and when you started painting
I’ve been painting and drawing all my life, very single-mindedly pursuing my
creative urges, from my earliest years of dinosaurs and spaceships, to my
polytechnic years of large scale cityscapes, to my recent animal rights
campaigns.
What is an animal rights artist? How did you become one?
Following my illustration degree (from Leicester Poly) I worked in graphic
design and continually created paintings and models, but without any real
sense of purpose. This lasted about a decade, and then I decided I needed to
add value and meaning to my life, and so I began volunteering at a local
animal rights charity. This immediately affected the subject matter of my
personal artwork, and for the next decade I indulged in writing and
illustrating imaginative novels that addressed the issues of animal rights,
human greed, overpopulation, pollution, etc. It was one of these
illustrations that unexpectedly became the catalyst for all that I now do.
This life-changing painting was for a short story about the future of the
meat industry, and it was called ‘The Ghost Camera’. I decided to use the
animal rights photographer Jo-Anne McArthur as the central figure in the
piece, as she had been the inspiration behind the story. She is one of the
heroes of the AR movement, and I wanted to send her the portrait as a
surprise gift. When I did, Jo was moved to tears, posted the image on social
media and this unleashed a wave of praise and support from thousands of
people. I was dumbstruck! In a single moment all my painting practice,
writing skills, knowledge of animal rights issues, and vegan life choices
suddenly combined together. The decision was easy to make, it felt
completely right.
My series of uncompromising paintings ‘Moving Pictures’ attempts to
dignify the farm animals we exploit, by bearing witness to their suffering.
I record their situation within the appalling world of factory farming, and
I portray each individual creature with accuracy, empathy and compassion.
Whereas people will often look away from photographs of disturbing and
barbaric scenes, when they are presented as art, the viewer has an entirely
different relationship with the image. They have a far better chance than
photographs of intriguing the viewer and drawing them in. The horror is
safely encased in a medium that works as a ‘filter’ between reality and the
viewer, and if my work can catch and hold the attention, then hopefully
empathy will follow, as well as the openness to learn more about the work.
Put simply, I want to confront the viewer with the truth. I want my art to
bring the hidden individuals out of the darkness of their sheds, farrowing
crates, concrete stalls, and airless barns, out into the light.
Please read ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE AND MORE ART (PDF)
For more information and prints of Philip McCulloch-Downs’ work, visit his website www.philipdownsart.co.uk
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