elephantman
Mediums Used
Elephantman the street artist, also known as Dominic Snow, has been actively fixing down elephants in opportune places around London and other towns and cities in order to open the debate about what is a person.
We are destroying the natural world and are fully engaged in the world`s sixth mass extinction event, and the driving force behind this is the notion that natural world is ours to exploit as we see fit rather than something to co-habit with respectfully. Legally, an animal is a `thing`, like a rock or a piece of wood, but anyone who has ever known any animals knows that this is simply not true.
Many people have the idea that a `person` can only be a human, but again this is not true: in the US a corporation is a legal person while it took high profile court cases in the US and Canada to establish that a women were indeed also `persons`. Slaves certainly were not persons, and were classified in bills of sale alongside the furniture. We can therefore see that the definition of a person has changed over time. Elephantman believes it is time for it to change again so that non-human persons can benefit from a level of legal protection hitherto denied them, and fostering a new way of viewing the natural world and its systems.
Why elephants? Dominic has been making versions of this elephant since 1996 and, while he has done many other things in his art practice such as fine art paintings and murals, it is the elephants that have kept drawing him back. Indeed he has not sculpted anything else. A purpose behind the compulsion began to emerge and the street art campaign took shape.
He has stated: `We can more readily see that an elephant is a person than many other animals: they are known to be very intelligent, they have funeral rites, strong family ties, long memories have been shown to demonstrate love, compassion, fear and anger in the same ways that humans do. We can empathise with them. If we can get to understand that an elephant is a person, then what about zebras, hyenas or sharks? What about cows, pigs and chickens? They are all sentient beings like us, needlessly exploited in a way which is destroying our habitable biosphere`.
Elephantman is using the elephant sculptures and his campaign as a thought wedge to open the idea of respect for all other living things.
Sculptures by elephantman
Credentials
Qualifications
MSc Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies. Ba Hons French, PTTLS.,MSc Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies. Ba Hons French, PTTLS.
Exhibitions
yes
Publications
https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/a-jumbo-momument-would-make-a-stamp-on-elephant-and-castle/
https://guernseypress.com/news/2016/10/25/elephant-man-out-to-raise-awareness-of-ivory-trade/
Featured on BBC Radio London, Robert Elms show three times.,https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/a-jumbo-momument-would-make-a-stamp-on-elephant-and-castle/
https://guernseypress.com/news/2016/10/25/elephant-man-out-to-raise-awareness-of-ivory-trade/
Featured on BBC Radio London, Robert Elms show three times.
Banksy opened the door for real artists to make a mark without having to go through the gallery system. In addition, the political commentary of his work has resonated with Elephantman inspiring him to make his work `about` something. Art with a purpose.
Most of what Elephantman does amounts to public works, just not commissioned or permitted. It is Guerilla sculpture. It is a gamble. Most sculptures remain in place, some get stolen and some get removed by official bodies. He regularly gets feedback from admirers of street art who like what he is doing and the purpose behind it, so his work is reaching the public in exactly the way he wants.
