Exhibition 1st-11th October 2015
Steps Gallery, 62 Lygon Street, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
PAMELA CONDER – ART WITH ORANGUTANS
Presented by
Pamela Conder – Art 4 Orangutans
and
Rich Live 4 Red Apes
A collection of paintings, drawings and prints produced in collaboration with Melbourne Zoo’s six Sumatran Orangutans.
This exhibition is not simply a collection of “novelty” pieces executed by apes. It is an exploration of the responses of human and non-human primate to colour, line and texture. It is a sharing of delight in this process.
The idea sprang from the keen interest shown by some orangutans over the many years I have been drawing them from life. In particular with Melbourne’s Kiani (Suma,) it became clear that she was able to recognize drawings of herself and preferred them to drawings of others. One day, being given a quickly sketched portrait of herself on the back of an envelope, Kiani carefully tore away all but the image, then sat intently tracing the outline of her face with an index finger.
©Pamela Conder 2014
Highly skilled senior primate keeper and orangutan specialist Fleur Butcher has joined forces with me to make this project possible. With the enthusiastic participation of Melbourne Zoo’s six Sumatran orang-utans, it explores the field of ape aesthetics, enriching the lives of these intelligent, complex and inventive beings through art.
The orang-utans are allowed free choice of colour from an extensive palette and offered a variety of surfaces to paint on. In some cases brushes had to be specially adapted to make them ape-safe. I pre-paint some canvases and create textured surfaces on others. Sometimes a figure is drawn in as a starting point, sometimes the orangutans initiate the composition. They all show highly individual and harmonious senses of colour, brush work and preferred materials.
Photo credit: Maddi Chambers
The prints have their origins in the orangutans’ charcoal drawings on paper, or graffiti drawn around their exhibit when given coloured chalks. I scan or photograph these, then develop them in the computer, printing them onto archival quality papers, sometimes adding collage to tell a story.
©Pamela Conder 2015
Some pieces are figurative and tell the story of our shared history with apes, and the wildlife of Sumatra and Borneo. Some are purely abstract, whilst others use abstraction to tell the story of the forests, the animals that share them and the threats to orangutan survival.
©Pamela Conder 2015
The proceeds of sales from the exhibition will be donated to fund behavioural enrichment programmes and staff training at Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.
Keep watching this blog over the coming weeks to see the development of new works of art and hear stories of the orangutans.
Pamela.