“Medicine,” one of Sarah Soward’s paintings from her Rhinotopia series, has been accepted into the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013 exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, England. This is an annual exhibition put on by the prestigious David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
“Medicine,” one of Sarah Soward’s paintings from her Rhinotopia series, has been accepted into the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013 exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, England. This is an annual exhibition put on by the prestigious David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
The painting features a rhino carrying a young plant between his horns. He’s surrounded by the fallen koa forest in forced perspective. He’s there to seed new life into the forest.
Rhinos are poached for their horns. Some cultures believe that rhino horn cures everything from the common cold to cancer.
“This is not true. There is no medicinal value in rhino horn. It is made of essentially the same substance as toenails,” explained Soward. Her painting declares that the rhino itself — the whole, living animal — is the medicine for a broken ecosystem. She asserts, “We can heal the whole world if we keep the world whole.”
Sarah donates a percentage of her income from her rhino artwork to the International Rhino Foundation. She lives and paints in Keaau.
You can view her work in person on the Big Island at Third Dimension Gallery, Kamuela One Gallery and Hilo Jungle Love in Pahoa.
Email sarah@sarahsoward.com for more information.