Editor’s note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series dedicated to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet and their solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to promote awareness and education on key sustainability issues and inspire positive action.
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Perched on a branch covered in darkness is a pierced Xingu scops owl. fiery amber eye. The work, created by British artist Sarah Ball, is titled “Megascops Stangiae,” a reference to the scientific name of this species, which is found only in Brazil’s indigenous Xingu region.
This impressive work is unique not only in its subject matter, but also in the way it was created. The owl’s primarily black and gray pastel colors were created using ash left behind after wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
This is part of a project called From the Ashes, an exhibition held at London’s Truman Brewery in February. It involved 29 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, and all of the works were created using inks, pigments and pastels made from ash and charcoal “recovered from the burnt remains of the Amazon,” Migratory said. Art says. The project was launched by a London-based social enterprise.
In partnership with the Art Research Center’s People’s Palace Project, the goal is to raise money for frontline indigenous communities and help combat the devastation caused by the fires.
The works will be auctioned at Christie’s in London in March, with an estimated price of between 2,000 pounds ($2,530) and 50,000 pounds, said Simon Butler, founder of Migrate Art and an artist participating in the exhibition. ($63,440) or more.
“Twenty percent of the proceeds will be kept for overhead and rent. The rest will be donated to the indigenous Xingu community, primarily for firefighting equipment,” he said. “All the ideas of what to do with the money didn’t come from us, they came from the communities themselves. When we were there, we met with them and talked to them about the fire department they wanted to develop, He also talked about tree regrowth and forest regeneration.”
Courtesy of Aislan Pankararu, Migrate Art and Christie’s
Artist Aislan Pankarar contributed “White Clay Encounter with Jenipapo” (2023) to the exhibition. He is from the indigenous Pancalar tribe of northeastern Brazil and creates his artwork as a way to honor and celebrate his ancestors.
The Amazon rainforest plays a critical role in capturing and storing carbon emissions, but by 2050 it faces a tipping point with potentially catastrophic consequences. According to the nonprofit organization Amazon Aid, the main cause of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest is deforestation for agriculture, logging, and other economic opportunities.
Tacman Cuiclo, a filmmaker and curator from the indigenous region of Brazil’s Amazon basin, calls indigenous communities the “guardians of the forest.”
“We are the main victims of climate change,” he said. “Since the severe fires that occurred between 2019 and 2022, we have been suffering from extreme heat and drought, threatening animals, trees, rivers, and food crops such as cassava, which are the basis of our diet. However, growth is delayed due to lack of rain.
Two years ago, Butler visited the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous Xingu community. Witnessing burned-out forestlands, which he describes as “red deserts like the end of the world,” motivated him to create change the way he knows best: through art. .
Inspired by the success of Migrate Art’s previous exhibitions, including “Scorched Earth,” which featured art made from the ashes of combat zones in Iraqi Kurdistan, Butler collected the charred remains of the rainforest and It was sent back to London and produced. Art supplies.
The material was then sent to artists around the world. Piers Secunda, a British artist whose work focuses on cultural destruction, used black ink to create a painting titled “Jungle Smoke.”
Piers Secunda, courtesy of Migrate Art and Christie’s
Funds raised from the auction will support reforestation efforts and enable indigenous communities to purchase firefighting equipment. Indigenous filmmaker and curator Takumar Kuiklo says the funding will help “take care of what belongs to everyone: our planet.” ”Smoke in the Jungle” (2023).
“Helping the purchase of firefighting equipment for the Xingu Reserve and selling my work to put out fires in the Amazon is the best use of my time and resources I can imagine.” he said.
The collection also includes works created by members of the indigenous community, including three paintings by Kamo Waura, a village shaman.
“It’s nice to see art without any influence from the economic market,” Butler said. “It’s pure storytelling.”
Ultimately, Migrate Art asks one question. “Can Art Change the World?” Secunda defines art as “mobilizing the right people to action, publicly embarrassing organizations, governments, and individuals who are causing harm, or raising funds.” It is likened to a sharp stick that can.
“These arts advocacy efforts are like grains of sand that build mountains,” he added. “Right now, the mountain is small, but it’s growing and it’s going to be big.”
