The Illegal Hunting and Trapping of Birds in Malta
A small island in the Mediterranean and key migratory stopping point between Africa and Europe, Malta is a hotspot for killing and trapping birds. This project looked at ways to communicate an issue that has significant impact to the natural world using collaboration to further enhance the message.
Bringing the topic to the public was important, so the pattern had to be transportable and not located in a static form (such as on furniture). Finding the pattern therefore on some kind of clothing and stationery became the key method of delivery.
The project was influenced aesthetically by great artists such as Raymond Ching and inspired by the ever-increasing campaigning to protect our natural world. I proposed to develop a large-scale pattern that could be using in campaigning and worn individually (in the form of a scarf), in both cases raising opportunity for conversation. When the scarf, which was 1 square metre in size and was one tile of the pattern, was taken off and held next to another of the same scarf, the tile would repeat and could be used as a banner for campaigning, uniting those with the same message. The pattern could also be printed on the cover of sketchbooks, encourage people with the sketchbooks to get together and reveal the repetition, unifying those with the same message and widening the sharing of information.
Below, we can see the pattern as it was developed through key stages:
Early drafts of the pattern visualised many of the key species targeted by hunters and trappers, alongside imagery of the threats these birds faced. Establishing the context of the environment was explored but it became too crowded, diluting the message. Even at these early stages, it was important to include drawings of humans for viewers to relate to.
The rough draft of the repeating tile that would form the pattern. Settling on individual illustrations that formed the tile meant that each one could be informative both individually and part of a whole. It was important to include imagery that would evoke a reaction, but also to include imagery that instilled some hope and positivity. This was found in the bird watchers in the pattern and promotes the idea of nature tourism and birding as positive ways of interacting with wildlife and making money for the local businesses.
This particular illustration was a keystone in the pattern, with some of the most symbolic imagery and recognisable species including a Heron and a Hoopoe.
A test on the aesthetics. In the end, this was too detailed to carry across to the whole pattern.
The final pattern tile included some challenging imagery of injured birds with the intention of hitting home the seriousness of the issue. There are also two Maltese flags to place the problem and even formation of the island of Malta hidden in the image. Various habitats are indicated in a grey line so as not to detract from the main subject matter but still provide some ‘grounding’ and consistency.
A close-up of the final aesthetic shows a looser, chunkier brush mark that reads better when printed on various surfaces at small and large scale.
The nine images above show the outcome of the work. The first row includes photos of the sketchbook covers on which the pattern can be printed using any paper. This enables transmission and accessibility if the file is downloadable to anyone. It can be printed and shared, so that when people come together with their sketchbooks, they can cause the repetition of the pattern. This hopefully enables the message to spread more effectively and opens up a conversation.
On the second and third rows, the scarf / banner can be seen in use and display with similar functions to the sketchbook. With protesting being such common practice, new ways to express our messages need to be developed to ensure those who should be listening keep paying attention.