Preservation of All Creatures
from Species Annihilation
( Size: 72" x 52" Oils )
Subjects in the painting:
The painting has various topics running through it, using symbols and metaphors.
Topics range from animal cruelty, human and animal annihilation, destruction of
ecosystems, ideology, religious belief, the sea and evolution.
Sample of Themes
The nun (right) is situated on a spiral of earth that is twisting from out of the sea.
Keeping her company are a derelict house, a strawberry, and to her left a child's
head with a doll like face, the head being partly shrouded by the remnants of a
parachute.
The Nun
The nun's face is partly covered with a mask.
This represents that this woman has taken her vows of chastity and has
given her life to serving her God, so she no longer wants to be seen or be portrayed
as an object for desire or to contribute to her own species by the way of
procreation.
She becomes on sight distant, aloof, untouchable, bereft of any contact with anything which
may be construed as mutual attraction.
Therefore the mask represents that even though she wears the habit of the church,
her inner most womanly feelings and desires cannot be totally suppressed.
Through evolution and her genetic inheritance her basic needs are the need to
be loved, to reproduce and to have an inherent sense of belonging.
The Apples
As you see under the parachutes there are apples from which elephants tusks
are suspended, these objects being synonymous with the "Garden of Eden" and
"memory, lest we forget" and to add that the tusk being a commodity is associated with the
wanton, but needless, slaughter of these gentle creatures.
The Derelict House
The derelict house represents the rise and fall of the Christian church if it
persists on its present course.
There are many issues in which the church should become more involved, such as global
events, famine, civil war, exploitation of the third world, greed, the green issues,
pollution, animal annihilation and their suffering for gain and pleasure.
The church appears to sit on the fence becoming blinkered, only too happy to keep
the status quo.
The Child's Head
The child's head represents the potent subject of birth control.
With the church's view still emanating from the depths of the dark ages a modern
approach would provide Christian followers with guidance.
A perfect example of controlled species annihilation is the three warring factions
in Bosnia, heavy with religious overtones, hell bent on ethnic cleansing for
territorial supremacy.
The higher echelon of the church are once again negative, fearing the resurgence
of Islam.
The Tree
The tree on the rack is a metaphor for man's inhumanity toward his fellow man,
the rack being made from the same tree that it is persecuting.
E.W. Powell 1994. Painting completed 1993
Complexity comment:
Species diversity is crucial in increasing our options, the size of the
available state space. For every, largely unknown, species lost we
lose the potential for one or more crucial (and profitable) breakthroughs
in science, medicine and technology, not to mention gains from
tourism or other areas. Most exploitation of the environment is
wasteful, renewable resources are destroyed and exhaustible
ones depleted. This must end. We must as a species switch
completely to renewable resources and penalise heavily those
whose short-sighted greed destroys OUR un-renewable future.
Page Version 1.1 October 1998
