Valerie Thompson
'Hold Me'
oil on board in antique frame
(proceeds to the Australian Orangutan Project)
Artist's Statement
Baby Temara intuitively clings to Leif Cocks as if her life depends on it – and he does
his best. Since being released into a 144,000 ha protected Sumatran forest, complete with
local anti-logging and anti-poaching patrols paid for by Leif’s organisation, she is thriving.
But Leif also battles proposals by timber giant Asian Paper and Pulp to log tens of thousands of ha within the protected area, as well as the ever-present threat of the palm oil industry. Indeed, the Australian Orangutan Project is one of few such advocacy groups not internally dominated by the palm oil industry. Leif is also a dear personal friend of over two decades.
- Valerie Thompson, February 2013
'Flying Foxes'
mixed media on paper