Big cats will invade Singapore’s streets and landmarks starting tomorrow to get the Year of the Tiger off to a roar.
Thirty-three life-sized tiger sculptures designed by the artists will be placed at familiar spots including Gardens by the Bay, Jewel Changi, National Gallery and Sentosa, as well as heartland areas like Waterway Point and Causeway Point.
It’s part of WWF Singapore’s AR-mazing Tiger Trail. The group joined paws with more than 60 international and local artists to create a trail of wild tigers island-wide that can be brought to life with Augmented Reality.
“Protecting tigers is not only about protecting a beautiful species with stripes, Rohit Singh, WWF’s wildlife enforcement director, said yesterday at a preview. “It is also about protecting everything else you protect by protecting tigers […] it’s protecting the entire ecosystem.”
Starting tomorrow and until April 9, locate the visually arresting tiger sculptures and then bring them to life with Instagram AR filters to find information about them – and the dire need to rebuild their numbers.
It’s part of WWF’s TX2 (Tigers times two) campaign to double the wild tiger population by this year.
WWF said that there are only around 3,900 wild tigers remaining in the world, and Southeast Asian tigers are where the most focus is needed. Their populations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar are also declining.
Tigers in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have already disappeared, and the Malayan tiger could be next, WWF added.
Thus, the campaign is aimed to spur conversations and action to save the tigers that are being killed by poaching, climate change, and deforestation.
Local artists taking part include mural artist Yip Yew Chong who painted his tiger depicting the impacts of deforestation on the tiger, ceramic artist Poppins who incorporated tiger lilies, and paper artist Ashley Yeo that featured endangered and rare flowers.
The roster of international artists includes Dave White of England. White incorporated 24-carat gold leaf to highlight the precious nature of tigers, and Thai artist Phannapast Taychamaythakool used butterflies to show the “Butterfly Effect” human actions have on wild tigers.
A series of workshops and activities such as decorating T-shirts, painting masks, making pottery, and upcycling will also be offered.
The public can also (virtually) adopt a tiger with the funds going to build environments for them to thrive.
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Photo Credit: Pixabay
