‘Ivory to Ashes’ a riveting watercolour exhibition by Susan Sargent will open on Friday, December 5th from 6-9pm at Doongalik Studios, #20 Village Road.
Susan Sargent is a visual artist and wildlife activist who is bringing her passion regarding the future of the African elephant across the continents and seas to raise awareness in The Bahamas on this global predicament.
“I find the plight of global wildlife in our modern era my impetus for becoming an artist-activist. The African Elephant, particularly, has inspired me to become a part of bringing awareness to the dire situation this species is in. Using the visual language of my artwork I hope to give voice to those with whom we share the earth but cannot speak for themselves.
“My paintings are my way of sharing my life’s observations. Wildlife has become a particularly ardent passion. I feel compelled to express my experiences with them and also the many rich day to day inspirations and pleasures as well. Dreams, spirit and the mystical, esoteric dimensions of life are also areas I love to explore.”
Special guest at the Exhibition will be Dr. Kate Evans, founder and Director of Elephants for Africa (elephantsforafrica.org) a charitable foundation dedicated to elephant conservation through research and education. Their focus is on male elephant sociality and human-elephant conflict, and gearing their education program towards schoolchildren, teaching them to view wildlife and nature as valuable resources rather than threats. A video presentation will also be available for viewing and Dr Evans will make a presentation on the topic on Saturday morning, December 6 at 12 noon.
Pam Burnside of Doongalik Studios added, “Ivory to Ashes is the first global wildlife campaign that the Gallery has had the pleasure to host. It is following immediately behind the “All Dead, All Gone” ceramic exhibition by Joann Behagg which focused on the dwindling state of our Bahamian fishing resources, and several years ago we were instrumental in mounting a highly successful awareness exhibition for the ‘Save the Turtles” campaign. We are very excited about this Exhibit because it carries the focus well beyond our Bahamian borders and forces us to realize how much we, as citizens of the world, need to become more involved in protecting our only home, Planet Earth.”
The Exhibition will consist of a varied collection of watercolour works as well as several mono prints. In addition, a portion of the sales will be donated to the Elephants For Africa charitable foundation as well as to the Cancer Society of The Bahamas.
It is hoped that school children will make the effort to attend the Exhibition which will be on display for the month of December. Gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday 10am – 4pm and Saturdays from 9am – 1pm.
Doongalik Studios
