“Medicine,” one of Keaau artist Sarah Soward’s paintings from her Rhinotopia series, has been accepted into the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013 exhibition June 4 to 8 at the Mall Galleries in London. This annual exhibition is put on by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
“Medicine,” one of Keaau artist Sarah Soward’s paintings from her Rhinotopia series, has been accepted into the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013 exhibition June 4 to 8 at the Mall Galleries in London. This annual exhibition is put on by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
Soward’s painting features a rhinoceros carrying a young plant between its horns. It is surrounded by the fallen koa forest in forced perspective. The rhino is there to seed new life into the forest.
Rhinos are poached for their horns. Some cultures believe that rhino horn cures everything from the common cold to cancer, though this is not true — their horns are made of essentially the same substance as toe nails. Soward’s painting declares that the rhino itself — the whole, living animal — is the medicine for a broken ecosystem.
Soward donates a percentage of the income from her rhino artwork to the International Rhino Foundation. Her work is on display at Third Dimension Gallery in Waimea; One Gallery, Hilo; and Jungle Love, Pahoa. Email Sarah@SarahSoward.com for more information.