Artwork description:

‘The Tree of Life and Death’ represents our food choices and how these choices either nurture nature or destroy it. On one side of the tree is Life represented by healthy foliage, fresh fruits and vegetables, sunshine and biodiversity, denoted by the presence of a wolf. On the other side of the tree hangs the carcasses of dead animals commonly used in food production. This side of the tree represents Death and the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. This side reveals a burnt landscape in which nothing can survive, let alone prosper, a crescent moon hanging in the sky implying night. The image was printed using a gradient blend that goes from green to red. Green represents Life and Red represents violence and Death. In between, where the two meet in the middle, is a fusion of the two colors. This purplish color represents the balance between life and death, since it is the balance or combination of two opposing colors. Of course there will always be life and death, but it is our choices that can tip the balance of a healthy planet. By choosing a plant based diet, one can help sustain a healthy ecosystem. By choosing to eat animals and animal by-products, one contributes to the depletion of Nature and its resources. The viewer must decide which side he or she will be on: that of abundance or scarcity.

Materials used:

paper, ink, silk screens

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