Industry Report + Bibliography

Even though my creative practice is constantly changing, moving between subject interests and new ways of working, my primary interest still heavily lies in documenting big cats and wildlife in general. I have always loved the beauty and elegance these animals exhibit through their movement and behaviour therefore would always find myself producing work surrounding these animals. It was during the summer however, when I had the privilege to closely work alongside these animals, that the problems of dwindling population due to poaching and the uninformed public were brought to light. I have realised that even though many are passionate about the conservation of these animals, there were still many out there that have not been informed of the facts and things they can do to help out these animals in need or how to avoid coming in contact with these animals.

As a result of wanting to use my creative practice to create awareness of the problems these animals are facing, I have decided to look into conservation illustration as a possible path I would like to take my creative practice in. With this career path in mind, I have decided to approach an artist group that works closely with conservation organisations called Artists for Conservation, an artists organisation based in Canada, to see how my practice could be used for such cause. This particular organisation aims to “lead a global artistic movement that inspires individuals and organisations to preserve and sustain our natural heritage by uniting the talent and passion of the world’s most gifted nature artists” as well as engage and educate the public about the urgency of sustaining wildlife through artistic expression and to which the funds gathered from the artwork sold will be donated to art-science field research expeditions to study endangered species. Although I am not in Canada, I find that the ambitions of where I want my work to stand socially are very similar to theirs therefore even though I many not be able to participate in the gatherings and expeditions held there, I already work with these animals and therefore will still be able to closely work with and produce work from observing the animals that currently reside in the zoo I work in. Furthermore, this organisation in particular is a non-profit group of artists that aims to support the environment with artists in all corners of the world therefore even though I have to be in Thailand due to my zoo duties, I could still be a part of this organisation and contribute work to it.

Due to the zoo being based in Thailand and the organisation based in Canada, I have also decided to look into working as a freelance illustrator in order to produce work for the organisation and still be able to fully engage in looking after the animals in the zoo and create work specifically for conservation in Thailand. Unfortunately, the conservation of wildlife is a problem that is lost in the chaos of corruption and conflict and therefore are less wildly known due to censoring. Therefore, with this loophole known, I aim to produce work in order to bring conservation more into light. In order to get a scope on how this may be possible and the general mechanics of how freelancing work, I have interviewed two freelance illustrators, a freelance photographer as well as a business and planning director based in Thailand in order to get a wide view on the creative industry over in Thailand and to see if the whether or not the creative industry differs at all from the either creative industry here in the UK or the creative industry in Canada. Primarily, I wanted to know whether or not being based in Thailand in any way of form prohibits me from creating work more on an international scale, from interviewing the artists, Pawika Charoenkul in particular, I have learnt that due to modern day technology and social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, illustrators are much more easily able to work alongside clienteles despite where either party is based. This factor alone solidifies greatly my confidence in going down the path of being a freelance conservation illustrator as my duties in the zoo will greatly prohibit me from travelling to meet clients therefore, being able to receive and negotiate with clients without leaving the country is an advantage.

With freelancing, I am also able to create my own subject driven projects in between commissions therefore allowing me to produce work either for the conservation organisation or for the zoo that I currently work at. This is a very crucial factor to me as even though, my main priority are tigers, I am very much aware of the danger other wildlife are met with therefore I would also like to produce work that will raise awareness for them as well. However, I do acknowledge that the notion of conservation is yet to be as prioritised as it is here in the UK therefore I have plans to start with selling my work through the zoo first to test the market. After discussing with Pawika Charoenkul about the possible problems that may arise with my main subject being wildlife and whether or not this factor may drive away possible clients, Pawika Charoenkul has said the issue of the difference in interest is not what matters and it is up to if the client likes the way my practice looks visually and whether or not they like the way I carry my practice. As long as my way of practice is made clear enough i.e my sense of working is clear through my social platforms, the clients approaching will be narrowed down. It is with this idea that I also decided to talk about networking. Out of all of the interviews done, all said that networking is crucial to starting off as a freelancer and networks can be attained through companies and agencies that they have previously worked at or by socialising with other artists within the creative industry. However, even though getting commissioned holds a level of importance , this aspect about being a freelancer doesn't matter to me as much as producing work that will socially and politically inform the public about the wildlife conservation.

Pombejra, P ., (2017) [Interviewed by Tunya Chinpilas, January 2017].

Charoenkul, P., (2017) [Interviewed by Tunya Chinpilas, February 2017].

Sudharomna, R ., (2017) [Interviewed by Tunya Chinpilas, February 2017].

Unknown. (2015). Mission & Vision. Available: http://www.artistsforconservation.org/about-afc/mission-vision. Last accessed 10th Feb 2017.

Unknown. (2017). Our Mission. Available: http://www.natureartists.com/home/content.asp?pageID=4. Last accessed 10th Feb 2017.

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