Sarah Ronald
As an artist I was really happy to be invited to participate in Precipice because it aligned perfectly with my interest in connecting with the world beyond the gallery. It was an opportunity to present my work where it had the potential to have a positive impact in the broader community. Precipice was also a great opportunity to connect with fellow wildlife concerned artists and art collectors, as well as a variety of individuals working in the fields of conservation, science and private sectors.
Along with talking about my piece (and our problematic concept of wildlife relocation to address habitat loss and poor human behaviour around coexistence with wildlife), I spoke about the importance of art and storytelling in this current time on the planet. Artists are really important to include in the climate and habitat loss discussions because they can present data in inspiring and unique ways, and those pieces can further engage and create massive ripple effects in generating solutions.
Through this exhibition I was also able to listen and learn. For instance after hearing CPAWS staff in media interviews, I was inspired to take a closer look at the UN report about biodiversity loss and excellerating extinction rates – which will no doubt become influence for future artwork, which will bring further awareness and acknowledgment to the broader community.
For my particular piece in this exhibition, The Transference of Landsharks, the message is for each of us to personally and continually check how our behaviours impact the natural world in daily life. Even where our current culture sets us up for complacency, we need to choose not to be complacent – we need to choose to stay engaged and to make positive changes for the rest of our lives.
If one loses sight of things, just consider that we are all living on clear cuts that were once massive healthy ecosystems: for this reason alone we have a responsibility to provide meaningful compassionate action towards all that is more-than-human.
You can check out Sarah’s work at sarahronald.com or on Instagram @sarahronaldartist.