Graffiti artist MacClements has created a visual ode to endangered African Penguins, decking out SANCCOB’s visitor’s centre with artwork that reminds everyone who stops by of the bigger picture when it comes to the conservation of our seabirds:
Cape Town, South Africa (12 July 2024) — Those who plan on visiting the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) will be greeted by massive penguins gliding through spray-painted seas thanks to a new mural by graffiti artist Christopher MacClements (known to the art world as MacClements). But it’s not just any penguin’s ideal day in the deep. It’s an “ode to our endangered African Penguins” as Christopher says. At a further glance, it’s inarguably an ode to the bigger picture of seabird conservation.
For the artists, the project was an honour that allowed his hand to showcase the beauty of this species. The vivid colours and the deep sense of freedom the mural captures aptly juxtapose the bleak futures the penguins face, making the call to seabird conservation all the more urgent as we realise without action, murals like this won’t be snapshots of the present, but relics of the past. Indeed, it is an ode to what we can’t lose.
“[SANCCOB are] trying to bring more urgent awareness to the African Penguin which is the most endangered penguin species and predicted to be extinct in 2035,” MacClements tells Good Things Guy.
In case you haven’t met non-profit SANCCOB before, they are our warriors of coastlines who handle everything from rescues to rehabilitation and research. You can find out more about the plight of our penguins and support SANCCOB here.
As for the artist behind the breathtaking mural, MacClements joins other artists who are using their art to inspire action, like Super Sandman Innocent Zungu who created his own ode to the penguins on World Seabird Day earlier this month under the wakeup call theme fitting to his sand medium, “here today, gone tomorrow”.
As for MacClements, he intends to come back and create another mural after tackling more work for NPOs, including Unravel Surf and Bitcoin eKasi.
Despite coming from an architectural background as a registered Candidate Architect, MacClements is helping create more than infrastructure; instead focusing on using his creative talents to design a meaningful world.
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From graffiti to illustration and visual art, MacClements has made it his mission to explore and interpret the inner workings of his mind and others through the circuitous process of design, collaboration and questioning inspired by his grandparents.
We can’t wait to see more of his work in and around Cape Town, and you can keep up with it all here.
Sources: GTG Interview
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