Environment « My Itchy Fingers

Rays of Lights

April 23, 2012 at 9:52 pm | Posted in itchy fingers | Leave a comment
Tags: Environment, Nature, Photography, Uniquely Singapore

Itchyfingers just finished a long day of bird photography session and was walking home after dinner, when I noticed an unusual red tinge showing through the horizon against the HDB flats. Unfortunately the view was partially covered by the hoarding of the construction work. The moment I stepped out of the lift, I turned to the direction of the setting sun…and was I glad to have done that! It was an exceptionally hot day when we were out in the field, and that must had contributed to the intensity of the orange glow of the sun. It was breathe taking…and I was glad I was there at the right time!

The brilliant rays of lights from the setting sun were shining through the
layers of clouds…This was not the work of Photoshop! It was the work of
Mother Nature!

In just a few seconds’ time, like a torch with a weakened battery, the rays
started to withdraw back to its source

Missed it and you gotta wait for the next time!

Also see related post:
> iLike. iLight

Baby Elephant Walk – Elephant Parade Singapore 2011

January 12, 2012 at 12:21 am | Posted in itchy fingers | 2 Comments
Tags: Animals, Cats, Design, Environment, Nature, Uniquely Singapore

The Elephant Parade is the world’s largest open air art exhibition of decorated elephant statues. It seeks to attract public awareness and support for Asian elephant conservation. Although they were here since last November, Itchyfingers didn’t have the chance to catch all of them since they were scattered over different places around the island. The frequent wet weather didn’t help too. So it was great to see all the 162 elephants at the same venue at the Botanic Gardens last Sunday before these beautiful elephant sculptures are auctioned away to aid the conservation.

Since there are so many of them, Itchyfingers can only showcase some of those which we like or are unique…

Isn’t this beautiful? This is Ele Fun-Asia by Ye Ruoshi. Although she has
a chinese opera make-up face, the body is painted with four different fabric
patterns representing the major ethnic groups in Singapore. The orchids
accessories symbolise Singapore

This is Miss India by Nut Thamrongpittayanan. Elephant is a sacred
animal in India, so I supposed it is apt to paint one in the traditional
costume

This is Miss China by the same artist. No wonder the style is similar

This is Miss Malaysia, again by the same artist, Nut Thamrongpittayanan.
Hmm…wonder why the same artist is commissioned to do three elephants
instead of giving other artists a chance to showcase their talent? Er, why no
Miss Singapore??

Instead of dolling up the elephants into pretty ladies, some artists prefer to transform their elephants into another animal…

White Tiger by Sakchai Pengprakhon! Striking! There were two other
elephants being transformed into normal tigers at Elephant Parades held in
other countries. One was Tiger by the same artist, while Tigerphant was by
Dominique Salm. Great minds seem to really think alike!

Coincidentally, we also have another animal transformation by our local artist…

Zelda Zelliphant by Dick Lee

Some of the elephants are used as advertisement for their brand or product…

Paul Frank by Mike Smith

One look and you know this is from the Singapore Zoo…This is the
Rainforest Zoo-Phant

An ang moh kid was able to recognise this graphics as the zoo’s. These same
graphic appear in the zoo’s promotional items

Coincidentally, again, another elephant also spotted a rainforest theme.

Titled, Amazon by Thiti Suwan, this is supposed to show “the lushness and
diversity of Thailand’s rainforests.”

A lot of elephants have a theme based on nature. Most carry a conservation message…

Safari by Sirinapha Sauepthong. “Nature is best when left untouched.”

I love the cheerful colours and graphics!

Love Song by Jane Veveris Callan. Itchyfingers like this cos there are a lot
of birds! The illustration style and finishing are also quite good, so Tisu Boy
chose this elephant as his favourite…

Some called for a better and greener world with more love for people and animals…

Pink Paradise by Opas Chomchean

Free Spirit by Leona Lewis the singer

Jimmy by Cristiano Cascelli

Nong Mai by Attasit Aniwatchon

Volumn by Gwon Osang offers an interesting way of executing photo montages
onto the animals to achieve more photorealism. But hor, I dun understand why
the artist chose to put animals from different continents together…heee…

Many elephants were made into beautiful decorative pieces, with not much concept or thoughts, in my opinion…

Princess Ellie by Matthew Campbell Laurenza. Bling bling!

Pavonia by Rebecca Sutherland. But at least both peacocks and elephants are
found in India…

Abril by Eva Armisen. At first look I thought it belongs to Taiwanese
illustrator Jimmy Liao 几米!

Flower of Love by Kesorn Mueanpang. This looks so sweet

Franny by Emma Kemp. The paintings are quite nice…

eleFISH! by PSA Group HR & Corporate Affairs Team

Flower backside from Worth to be Dutch by Hollandsche Waaren 屁股开花!!!!

The Naughty and the Elephant by Carrie Chau, one of my favourite Hong
Kong illustrators! When we saw this elephant at Orchard Road at night
during the Christmas season, the little character on the elephant was not
there! Was it being taken out for fear of theft or vandalism or was it really
stolen? Didn’t see this side of the body with the girl painted on the leg so
I didn’t realise it was her work…

Carrie Chau’s character, Blind Fly…I love her work!

But at least these elephants are pretty. There are some which don’t even look pleasant…Others, while they may not look pretty at first, do offer interesting details in their execution…

Interesting collage work on Revenge of the Animals by Mojoko

Cute little illustration of bird skeleton on Gajah by Nadya Hutagalung, Ann
Healy & Edo Hutabarat

Dada, the Surrealist Elephant by Rosihan Dahim paid homage to a few
masters of the art movement…

Siegfried by Andre Tempel…looks like he has toothpaste squeezed all over…

Some are designed with a festive feel…

Red Hapinez by Rasamee Kongchan. Feel so ‘chinese new year’

Singapore Ele-Dragon by Jamie Paul welcomes 2012, the Year of the Dragon.
But it looks very fierce huh…This elephant was placed at such an obscure
location in Orchard Road that I think not many people may have seen it…

It has playful, child-like drawings on it…

Some are really “uniquely Singapore” as they have a strong Singapore theme…

Temasek by Ratchakrit Wichaiyo features the iconic Merlion…

One Degree North by Diana Francis is the most tourist-friendly as they
can find various places of interest on the map…

The zoo and the Botanic Gardens on its backside…Er…the map gives
wrong direction though…hahah

Er, I think nobody will miss this seemingly plain-looking white elephant
cos the chinese characters were written by the immediate past President
of Singapore…I think The Calligraphic Elephant by Mr. S. R. Nathan
may just get the highest bid at the auction since it is done by the most famous
person in Singapore

There are some elephants which are adorned with one of my favourite animals…meow….!

Singacat by Sakchai Pengprakhon. Gorgeous!

I thought they are the Singapura Cats, but the artist said they are Siamese.
Actually I can’t tell their differences…hahah

There were smaller sized elephant sculptures for purchase but the miniature
ones for this elephant were not as nicely painted…

The Elephant and the Cat by Paul Koh

The other side…

Cats from Lives to Share, Lives to Spare by Laura Seeleys

Some elephants are rather “heavy metal”…

Nature Sound by Luka Boonkerd Kaewdee. Wow…need to cut out the
strips…

Nuts Over Elephants by Max Kong. We all are…aren’t we?

Elephants are supposed to have very good memory, hence the title of this piece…

Elephant Memory by Sonny Liew, our local comic artist

I like his work

“Elephant Memory Man has so much on his mind. His sidekick Ele looks
on and wonders what is to be done.”

Some artists highlight the plight of wild elephants through their art…

Leather Trunk by Amy Thng & Laura Tang is painted to resemble a luggage
passing through countries that have participated in the Elephant Parade.
Fun stickers are also stuck on “to remind us that elephants should not be
forcibly removed from their natural habitat thereby threatening their extinction.”

Swampy Jane by Joss Stone. “All animals should be respected in their own
environment.”

This must be the saddest looking elephant! Damaged Dumbo by Renato L.
Barja Jr.

The artist wants to highlight “the disturbing and inhumane acts of people
towards the largest land animal….no amount of riches can justify the killing
of our beloved elephants.”

So poor thing, even the backside is also “damaged”…

There is a tiny baby elephant among all. This is We Love Mosha by Diana
Francis. Baby elephant Mosha has become sort of ambassador to the
Elephant Parade as she has been to every city and country the Parade visits.
She is the source of the parade’s commitment to help her and other elephants
which are becoming endangered in Asia

Some itchy fingers vandalised her bandage with their awful names. Maybe
the organiser should put up more signs to ask people not to touch or climb
on the elephants as they are art pieces to be auctioned for fund-raising

A few elephants were damaged so artists had to do some touch up on
the spot in time for the auction. This is Stop Asians Ahead by Ketna Patel

Then there is this rather unusual piece…I bet some people have missed it or just dismissed it as a work-in-progress or damaged work…

This is aptly named White Elephant by Allan Balisi! According to the artist,
he was inspired by David Lynch’s movie, The Elephant Man. Hence he covered
it with a white canvas. “It is more like a shy or terrified elephant. It also
represents the anonymity and sense of helplessness of the elephant when it is
slaughtered for its ivory. The all-white cloth covers the elephant’s identity; his
right to live is taken away from him because of the greed of mankind.” Well, if
you think the rationale behind this work is too much to stomach, just think of
it as depicting something left unused, hence a white elephant! Hahah…But
hor, this work is a bit slack huh…? Hahah…just paint the elephant inside
white and cover with a white cloth…Maybe it wasn’t even properly painted?
Haha…I felt like flipping the cloth over to check what’s inside…hahahah!!!

So, out of so many elephants, which is Itchyfingers‘ favourite? Ahhhh….you must be thinking it has to be this one…

…because it has a turtle on it! This is Turtlefan by Opas Chomchean

But nope…it is not my favourite…It kinda surprised me also, cos when I first saw the photo, I thought it looked odd and funny…But after seeing all the elephants, this one really stands out the most in terms of colour, shape, execution and its sense of humour. It has transformed the elephant into something so unexpected….It really grows onto you…

A durian! The artist has cleverly turned his elephant into the thorny, pungent
smelling fruit of the tropic, a favourite among many Singaporeans! This is
Delightful Durian by Nat Posila & Ed Robinson. I am not a durian fan, but
if I have to choose, I prefer durians with this kinda bright orangey-yellow
meat as they are sweeter…

Look at the durian shell! So funnily cute! The artists say, “Everyone knows
Singaporeans love durian! And since we wanted to create an elephant that
would touch and surprise the visitors of Elephant Parade in Singapore,
a huge elephant durian is the perfect piece. We hope this makes everyone
who sees him feel our happiness in helping Asian Elephants.” I think they
had achieved this, looking at the number of visitors waiting for their turns
to take photos with the huge durian…An ang moh kid was heard exclaiming
“so smelly! so smelly!” while looking at it… Hilarious!

Again, great minds think alike…

Gajah Tidur by Hamir Bin Soib. Another durian, but in terms of execution,
it is less interesting than the other more three-dimensional one…

Another fruity-themed elephant…Orangephant by Nat Posila

Itchyfingers had a great time admiring the 162 elephants and we hope all of them will find a new home at the auction and raise funds for the conservation of the majestic Asian Elephants! Certainly looking forward for the next Elephant Parade!

Faces of Death

August 10, 2011 at 12:22 am | Posted in itchy fingers | Leave a comment
Tags: Animals, Environment, Life, Malaysia, Nature, New Zealand

Words of Caution: The following posting contains graphic imageries not suitable for those who are faint-hearted. Read at your own risk or come back again when we have more family-oriented or children-friendly posts…hahah... 8)

“One more!”

“Another one!”

“Oh gosh…one more! Can I go down and see?”

Itchyfingers were driving in New Zealand during our first road trip overseas and we kept passing by roadkills along the way. I was curious as to what animals they were, so I kept pestering Tisu Boy to stop the car and check them out. But he would always refused because it was dangerous to stop, unless the road was sufficiently wide enough for us to pull over. Of course there was also the morbid and gross factors involved as they were dead animals afterall.

One day,Tisu Boy finally gave in and stopped the car as it was a relatively quiet and wide stretch. At last we confirmed our guess as to who were these poor victims of the road….

A possum…It looked like it was killed not too long ago…There was barely
any blood but it could be on the other side of the body or perhaps it died
of a deadly internal injury

Look at the prehensile tail…The Common Bushtail Possum (Trichosurus
vulpecula) is a native from Australia but was introduced into New Zealand
in the 19th century

Like many other introduced species, these possums create a problem for the
adopted environment. They are considered a pest as they love the native Rata
tree. We saw many shops selling products like gloves, hats, scarves etc made with
possums’ fur. They called this “eco-fur”, as the animals are a threat to native flora
and fauna. By culling/harvesting them from the wild, the authority are thus
controlling their population. The products feel reasonably soft and warm,
but I find the thought of using fur products repulsive if animals need to be killed
to keep us warm…It was especially gross whenever we thought of the numerous
possum roadkills…not that they used them to make into scarves lah…haha..

Similarly, we also saw many roadkills when driving along the Malaysian roads, especially those lined with oil palm plantations. This day, we happened to drive past one roadkill which looked quite complete…er…meaning it was not squashed beyond recognition…Again, I had to keep pestering Tisu Boy before he finally relented and stopped the car for me to take a quick look…I was not obsessed with animal carcasses lah…was just curious about the kinds of wild animal that lived out there…

Goodness.. Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) or Toddy Cat, is also
called Musang in Malay. This is the animal used on the Raffles Museum of
Biodiversity Research (RMBR) logo. It looked so bloated that we didn’t dare
to scrutinise too closely or stay too long in case it exploded due to the built-up
pressure… Palm Civets like the palm fruits and this one probably got killed while
trying to cross the road…So poor thing…have not had the fortunate to see a wild one,
especially when this uncommon animal is nocturnal

It is never a nice experience to encounter roadkills since it usually means that the wild animals are driven out of their native habitats in search of food. It is even more unpleasant and sad when the dead animal happens to be a rare species. There has been reports of roadkills like the pangolin, banded leaf monkey and even otter in Singapore! Certainly hope that these animals will find a safer haven when the bridge across BKE (Eco-link) connecting the nature reserve on both sides of the expressway is completed!

Also see related post:
> The Smell of Death
> New Lease of Life
> Alien vs Natives
> Close Encounter with an Otter