A series of paintings, sculptures and quotes that form a single work on the environment.

By Duncan Edwards

The Piercing Eye

The Art Work

All the pictures of animal species are painted in watercolour, a pure unadulterated medium reflecting the species purity and blamelessness for the world’s current environmental state.

They are framed, surrounded or captured by our waste, - paper, metal, plastic, indicating that only we can release them from these bonds.  There are a number of sculptural ‘abstract’ eyes.  These are representational human eyes showing that we have become detached from nature. The true eyes cannot be seen and are represented by materials that we have abused, or reflect a human state.

A brief synopsis of each picture has been provided, including size, materials, and title which may relate to an aspect of the environment, to the eye itself, or to something that affects the environment. All the species depicted are living species some threatened, some not, but in truth now all threatened, as are we. Each painting is accompanied by a quote about the environment.

Some of the titles have names such as Buti, and Aznacollar these are environmental tragedies that down the years have damaged our environment. Yanomami are an Amazon tribe fighting for their survival.  A search on the net will reveal more on the names.  More eyes are on their way.

Biography

As a young person I spent my formative years in the west country and spent some time doing voluntary work for the Wild Fowl Trust, and was much influenced by the work of Sir Peter Scott.  Throughout my life and various jobs I have maintained an interest in the environment and have worked on various projects related to the environment.  In 1993 I had begun to think what I could do personally to help the environment and at the same time use my own skills.  It was the quote ‘the eye is the window of the soul’ that initially ‘sparked’ the idea for the project.  The project grew and at times got out of hand, but I felt it important to press on in snatched moments of free time to show people that even the individual citizen can try to help our planet.

The size of the body of work is a reflection on the extent to which we have adversely affected the planet.