Animals Asia - Moonstruck

Moonstruck - 24-28 April 2012

Menier Gallery, 51 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1RU

Following Mike & Tracie's amazing China Trek in October 2011 (you can watch our progress video here!) empath-e are delighted to be sponsoring this brand new event for 2012. Read more in our press release.

Animals Asia UK are thrilled to announce a very special exhibition of drawings, paintings and sculptures of moon bears and other Chinese wildlife by acclaimed artists Richard Symonds and Suzie Marsh.

There will be over 40 limited edition and original sculptures and drawings so plenty to choose from and to suit all budgets. Tickets for the private view will be available from their UK office, and they hope that all our London supporters will visit the exhibition during the week. For those further afield, purchase details will be available on their website from February. For more information, see the Moonstruck Facebook page or watch this promotional video by Richard Symonds.

Suzie’s superb figurative animal sculptures have gained great acclaim over the last 25 years. Made in ceramic and then cast in resins, pewter or hot foundry bronze, these wonderful sculptures are suitable for homes and gardens.

Her commitment to Animals Asia has resulted in donations of fabulous limited-edition sculptures and her design of Hope of Freedom, ‘our’ elephant in the 2010 London Elephant Parade.

Suzie says, “To express what it means to help these bears is almost impossible to put into words. I am completely under the bears’ spell and will do what I can for them in my own small way and I know I will always wish it could be more.”

Richard’s passion and commitment to wildlife spans over 20 years, in which time he has helped raise significant funds and awareness for wildlife through the sale of his original paintings and drawings.

Richard became aware of the plight of the moon bears after meeting Jill in 2010, and immediately offered an exhibition of his drawings. Having already met up with Suzie in May 2011, the two visited the bears at our Chengdu sanctuary to collect material for the exhibition.

This visit changed their lives dramatically as what they saw and learned at the sanctuary overwhelmed them.

Life changing experience

Richard tells us, "My most moving experience was meeting the heroic Oliver bear, who I learnt had spent 30 years of his life incarcerated and tortured at the hands of humans for his precious bile. I quite literally broke down with emotion and made a silent promise to Oliver that I would do all I can to help him and his fellow bears and would never forget them or him.

Apart from capturing these fantastic brave, heroic and playful animals for eternity on canvas so that they will never be forgotten, I hope - above all else - to help raise awareness about the terrible plight and suffering of the bears. It is without doubt that Jill has started a ball rolling that just will not stop until the last bile farm is closed and these majestic souls can finally live a life of peace. I am honoured to be a small part of this."

Suzie adds, “Arriving at the sanctuary and seeing my first bears just overwhelmed me like a tidal wave. Watching the videos we took of them brings it all back. They are such magnificent creatures. To see how they can recover from what humans have done to them is mind-blowing. And meeting Jill, who has fought so long for them and who is still so positive, was an inspiration – how can we not save these bears?”

Fired by their mutual passion, Richard and Suzie are delighted to be working on this exclusive exhibition in aid of the bears and both artists have very generously offered between 45-50 per cent of the exhibition proceeds to Animals Asia.