Image by @darkgravity / Instagram
Patrick Cabral is an artist from Philippines whose art is committed to saving endangered animals. The idea for his project consisting of hand-cut endangered animals in paper was inspired by the documentary film Before the Flood which was co-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and focuses on the topic of climate change.
To create his 3D animal portraits, Cabral uses recycled paper and superimposes between 20 and 30 layers. Cabral’s works are incredibly detailed and include lots of patterns cut with nearly surgical precision. His work is so minute it could be compared to lace. Each of the pieces is done in 10-15 days.
Patrick Cabral says he chose paper as art medium because the material is accessible and inexpensive; the Filipino artist is committed to saving endangered animals by donating to WWF 50% of the money he earns by selling his work. Each of the pieces costs $2,000, which means that the association receives $1,000 for every sale.
For now, Cabral has created 13 works for WWF Philippines. You can check out some of them below.
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It’s almost weekend in my side of the world, but before I get some rest, here’s another paper cut for my @wwfphilippines and @aoklife collab. Here’s a fun fact I didn’t know about gorillas. Around the nose, there are a few wrinkles unique to each gorilla, a fact used by scientists to quickly identify them in the wild. All species (and sub-species) of gorilla are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.[12] Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade. In 2004, a population of several hundred gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped out by the Ebola virus.[67] A 2006 study published in Science concluded more than 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. The researchers indicated in conjunction with commercial hunting of these apes, the virus creates "a recipe for rapid ecological extinction".[68] Conservation efforts include the Great Apes Survival Project, a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme and the UNESCO, and also an international treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats, concluded under UNEP-administered Convention on Migratory Species. The Gorilla Agreement is the first legally binding instrument exclusively targeting gorilla conservation; it came into effect on 1 June 2008. You can purchase the artwork at https://www.aoklife.com/auctions/32/Patrick-Cabral/Gorilla or follow the link on my profile. I’m donating 50% to @wwfphilippines Find out more about WWF’s initiative on Rhinos at https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/gorilla Follow @Aoklife to find out how you can help Charitable Institutions raise funds.
A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity) on Mar 17, 2017 at 6:07am PDT
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The first thing I read on Facebook today was "Poachers Break Into French Zoo, Kill White Rhino And Steal His Horn” . "Poachers forced their way into a French zoo and killed a southern white rhinoceros named Vince, sawing off one of his horns before fleeing into the night." "Despite bans by international convention and French law, the illegal sale of rhino horns persists because of demand for use in traditional Asian medicine. A kilogram of rhino horn sold on the black market for nearly $54,000 in 2015, according to the zoo.” The white rhino is an endangered species, with an estimated 21,000 remaining in the wild across the world, mainly in South Africa and Uganda. Their horns are sought after in Asia, where they are valued for their supposed aphrodisiac qualities. Someone actually suggested that maybe we should cut-off all their horns to prevent poachers from killing Rhinos. It’s infuriating how we are at the point that people are considering this as a solution. This animal was the hardest one to make. I really want to make something that highlights Rhinos specially when @inkhappythoughts shared that there are only three northerns whites left and it’s guarded 24/7 by armed men. This papercut is inspired by Albrecht Durer’s woodcut from 1515 . It’s one of my most favourite image ever. The first time I saw it was from an encyclopaedia and it has been seared into my memory. I want to make a piece that I would personally would want to keep and this one is among my most favourite. You can purchase the artwork at https://www.aoklife.com/auctions/27/Patrick-Cabral/Rhinoceros or follow the link on my profile. I’m donating 50% to @wwfphilippines Find out more about WWF’s initiative on Rhinos at https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/rhino Follow @Aoklife to find out how you can help Charitable Institutions raise funds. Let me know what other endangered animals you want to see on paper cut on the comment section.
A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity) on Mar 8, 2017 at 3:42am PST
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Today's artwork for my @aoklife and @wwfphilippines collab is a sea turtle. I'm always reminded of a joke by George Carlin where he suggest that “plastic" could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question “Why are we here?” It's funny until you see marine animals wrapped in plastic. There was even a National Skip the Straw Day that was first celebrated last Feb. 24, so people would stop using drinking straw for at least a day. "Seven different species of sea (or marine) turtles grace our ocean waters, from the shallow seagrass beds of the Indian Ocean, to the colorful reefs of the Coral Triangle, and even the sandy beaches of the Eastern Pacific. WWF’s work on sea turtles focuses on five of those species: green, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback and olive ridley. Human activities have tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners. Nearly all species of sea turtle are classified as Endangered. Slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation. They also face habitat destruction and accidental capture in fishing gear. Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites. It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings. WWF is committed to stop the decline of sea turtles and work for the recovery of the species. We work to secure environments in which both turtles—and the people that depend upon them—can survive into the future. " You can purchase the artwork at https://www.aoklife.com/auctions/31/Patrick-Cabral/Turtle or follow the link on my profile. I’m donating 50% to @wwfphilippines Find out more about WWF’s initiative on Rhinos at https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sea-turtle Follow @Aoklife to find out how you can help Charitable Institutions raise funds.
A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity) on Mar 15, 2017 at 5:15am PDT