Bogota Banksy Highlights Dolphin Plight
By tony leather, 12th Sep 2012 | Follow this author
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Flipper trainer Ric O' Barry is travelling to Bogota to join Sano in campaigning against marine captivity and also in some mural pianting - an event the artist sees as especially important for his cause - so much so that Sano is set to dub Ric his most valuable painter - MVP
Bogota Banksy Highlights Dolphin Plight
A yearly slaughter of some 23,000 Dolphins in Taiji, in Japan affected Filipino artist and environmental activist AG Sano so much that he quit his job - dedicating himself to bringing the creatures back to life - in the style of Banksy - one painted wall at a time. So moved was he that he posted the pictures on Facebook, at which point a complete stranger offered his house as a canvas. That was the beginning and the momentum has gone on from there in leaps and bounds.
Invitations were soon pouring in - Sano traveling around the country - paint and brush at the ready - drawing crowds of eager viewers wherever he appeared, everyone from policeman, politicians, businessman, politicians and street cleaners would stop for a while and ask questions., so Sano would patiently explain and soon spectators became willing participants, this amazing awareness campaign now featuring in excess of 35,000 dolphins painted on over 200 very diverse walls by 25,000 volunteers as well as the artist himself.
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Iconic Dolphin Flipper trainer Ric O' Barry is travelling to Bogota to join Sano in campaigning against marine captivity and also in some mural pianting - an event the artist sees as especially important for his cause - so much so that Sano is set to dub Ric his most valuable painter - MVP.
Sano gives credit to British graffiti-artist Banksy for the inspiration to employ public, street art - so-called graffiti - as the right medium for sharing his passion for saving these magnificent creatures. He dreams of one day joining his hero in the streets of London to paint some dolphins with him. In fact, once Sano has drawn the outlines of each image, it is the volunteers who choose the colours used, giving them - as Sano sees it - a sense of ownership and greater connection.
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It is, by all accounts this sense of collective community effort and ownership that has driven the rapid growth of the campaign, owned by those that shared their time and resources to convey the importance of these creatures, the painting in groups giving everyone a sense of belonging.
This amazing artist claims that he set out intending to create one dolphin image for each of the slaughtered 23,000 killed, but when asked - by the country's department of natural resources - to create the longest wildlife mural in the Philippines - a project aimed at raising awareness of protecting the oceans - Sano realized he had sparked a genuine revolution in thought.
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So much so that back in May, he was joined by 1000 volunteers to paint the incredible - 1075-meter long Biodiversity Wall of Nature - in Quezon city, showcasing more than 200 Philippine waters species of marine and mammal life. Sano continues to paint murals, wherever he gets asked to do so, now focusing more on ending Philippine habit of holding dolphins in captivity.
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For his actions, the World Wide Fund for Nature -Philippines Branch - has recognized Amado Guerrero ‘AG’ Saño as its newest environmental hero. As he so beautifully put it - If humans fail to fight for what they believe in, nothing will happen. Dolphins have been in Earth’s oceans for 50 million years, humans less than 200,000, so what gives us the right. to play God? Banksy would surely love this amazing man, as I most certainly do.
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