Elephant Nature Foundation

Click on this link to see a video by National Geographic about the elephants in Thailand and the elephant park I am going to go to...

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0510/feature5/video.html

The park was established by an amazing Thai woman, Sangduen "Lek" Chailert. Here is her story as taken from their website:

Sangduen "Lek" Chailert was born in 1962 in the small hill tribe village of Baan Lao, two hours north of Chiang Mai. Her love for elephants began when her grandfather, a traditional healer, received a baby elephant as payment for saving a man's life. Lek would spend many hours with her family's new friend, named Tongkum or Golden One, which would result in a passion that would shape the rest of her life.

Lek received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Chiang Mai University, and from there moved into working in the elephant tourist industry. While helping owners of trekking companies locate unemployed elephants, Lek quickly learned about the abuse and neglect that domestic Asian elephants experience.

With a love and respect for her country's national symbol and the knowledge that they were becoming endangered, Lek began advocating for the rights and welfare of Asian elephants in Thailand. In an industry that is steeped in its traditions, advocating for a change to the way domestic and wild Asian elephants are treated has not been an easy battle. But through hard work and determination her voice is beginning to be heard.

In addition to several documentaries about her work by National Geographic, Discovery, Animal Planet, and the BBC, Lek has also been honored to receive many awards. In 2005, Time Magazine named her a Hero of Asia for her work in conservation. The Ford Foundation in association with National Geographic named Lek a Hero of the Planet in 2001. Additionally, she has received two honorary degrees from Rajabaht Chiang Mai University; a PhD in Sustainability and Conservation in 2002, and a PhD in Veterinary Science in 2006. Finally, the National Geographic documentary Vanishing Giants, highlighting Lek's work with the Asian elephant, was recognized by the Humane Society of the United States with the Genesis Award in 2003.

In the coming years Lek hopes to bring her message about conservation and the humane treatment of Asian elephants to more people in and outside of Thailand. She will also continue to improve the lives of the rescued elephants living at Elephant Nature Park and provide emergency healthcare to elephants in remote villages throughout Thailand.

I went to friends birthday celebrations the other day and she asked us all to share something like a song or a poem, so i pulled out a couple of these to read. I guess it reminded me that it is good to share these things...

I wrote these, amongst others, leading up to the elephant show earlier this year. One of them was used for the show, some lines stolen from the end of it as the title and others as the byline for the show, it was printed in full in the catalog.



Part 1

She does not like this place
She knows it isn’t good
there is something wrong
she has known it for ages
Maybe she is sick
Maybe she is dying

She does not like this place
She knows there are other better places
She’s been there before
She can’t see them now though,
Because of all this mist
So maybe she is wrong
Maybe there is only mist

She does not like this place
She is sunk in smelly, thick goo
It covers almost all of her
Her skin is suffocating
Her nose is clogged with it
Her mind is submerged in it

She does not like this place
She thinks she can hear others
Ones who are somewhere else
But you can’t be sure of these things
Can’t trust your senses
Maybe it is all in your head

She does not like this place…
But at least she knows where she is
She is here, in the mud
With clogged skin and bad smells
Uncomfortable, but predictable; safe

‘I do not like this place’
she thinks to herself,
at last it is put in words.
Once she thought that
she was able to think this:
‘Then, maybe…
Maybe I should move’



Part 2

She steps tentatively down a strangely familiar path
From the edges of her eye she can see a glittering
Behind her a steaming bog, its mud stuck to her skin

She steps carefully through a mess of tangled vines
From the back of her nose she can smell a new thing
The stinking mud cracks, shrinks, itches on her skin

She walks on distracted by sounds almost unheard
Steps out onto sand, into sun and shivers in its heat
she shudders and dusty scabs of muck crumble away

She walks to that glittering, heaving mass of water
Tastes the sweet salt in the air, makes up her mind
The salt spray sticks to her skin, merges with mud

She struggles through waves, lifted, dragged backwards
Still she pushes forward til she is beyond their violence
Skin scoured almost clean by sandy, churned up water

Her legs not touching earth, but treading in vastness
The weight of her self has been taken up and carried
The last of the mud melts and is gently washed away

Now she remembers

Thailand

I have finally booked my tickets to go to Thailand~
March 2009 will see me working with elephants for a week or two and then traveling around looking at galleries, other elephant centres, universities etc.

As soon as I booked my flights I have had a renewal of energy and inspiration for the elephant theme. I have started envisioning new works, getting excited about what materials I will take on the trip to draw and paint while I am there. Thinking about gettting a really good camera so that I can take amazing shots. I can't wait!!!

C.V.

Education:
2001 BA Melbourne University (Philosophy and Art History)
2005 Diploma Visual Arts (Post Grad, CAE)

Selected Exhibitions:
2009 Solo Show 'Show and Tell' Pea Green Boat
2008 Solo Show 'Now She Remembers' fortyfive downstairs
2008 Solo Show 'Project Red Balloon' Brunswick Arts

2008 Curated show 'B-Grade' Brunswick Arts

2009 Group Show 'The Impact of Stones' Brunswick Arts
2009 Group Show 'This is Brunswick Arts' Brunswick Street Gallery

Residencies:
2007 Artist in Residence - St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne

Related Experience:
2009 One month stay in Elephant park in Thailand
2009 Joined managing committee of Brunswick Arts Space
2000-2009 various volunteer positions at galleries like fortyfive downstairs and Heide MOMA