Trunks in Trouble, Ardmore’s most recent offering at Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate, is a conservation exhibition that exposes the ecological problem confronting Victoria Falls’ elephants, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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Trunks In Trouble, Ardmore’s debut at Uitsig, supports Ele-Collection, an innovative technology solution tackling this dilemma. Running from 31 October to 3 November, between 9am. and 5pm.
Each day, Ardmore’s founder, Fée Halsted, will give a discussion at 11am to provide insight on the creative process and the critical message underlying the collection.
Elephants are among the wisest and most majestic animals on the planet. African elephant populations, known as ‘keystone species’, have a significant impact on the vitality of the ecosystems in which they exist; elephants construct and preserve habitats by modifying landscapes, helping to form grasslands and woodlands. They play an important role in seed dispersal, expanding plant species and establishing microhabitats that help smaller animals and insects; during droughts, elephants construct wells that provide water for a variety of species.
Elephants are owed a great deal.
Currently, the elephants of Victoria Falls are confronting an acute ecological crisis, having become the latest victims of plastic pollution. Every month, 230 tonnes of plastic waste, equivalent to the weight of 33 elephants, flood the town and nearby areas.
Elephants and other species scavenge through rubbish dumps around the Falls, consuming plastics, glass, and other hazardous materials. This plastic ingestion causes serious stomach ulcers, exacerbating pain and intensifying human-animal conflict as elephants become more aggressive in their seek for relief. Tragically, most cases of this malady, now known as ‘plasticosis,’ result in the death of the affected animals.
Ele-Collection is a pioneering program that uses innovative technology to turn all types of plastic garbage into building aggregates, bypassing standard recycling techniques.
In response, acclaimed South African studio Ardmore, lead by founder Fée Halsted and her skilled artisans, created a dramatic ceramics series called Trunks in Trouble to raise awareness about the predicament of Victoria Falls’ elephants and assist Ele-series’s critical work.
Ardmore hopes that this display will raise awareness and funding for Ele-Collections’ goal to protect these precious creatures from the hazards of plastic pollution.
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Picture: Supplied
