Elena Koshy
A monochrome menagerie of tapirs has invaded a local mall to spread the message of conservation, writes Elena Koshy
THERE has been an influx of wildlife in the city recently. Trepidations aside, witnessing a “candle” of the Malayan tapirs at a local mall has got people buzzing with excitement instead of fleeing for safety. The gentle black and white creatures that once dominated our forests are now in KL to gently trudge their way into the hearts of the public.
The Malayan Tapir Awareness Campaign 2016 pays tribute to this amazing local wildlife, featuring an exhibition of 3,000 Malayan Tapir clay figurines painstakingly created by schoolchildren across the nation at Publika until May 8 to mark World Tapir Day celebrated on April 27 every year.
MALAYSIAN DILEMMA
“We wanted to showcase local wildlife in our flagship mall, and the Malayan tapir is an animal that deserves to be highlighted as it’s in danger of going extinct today,” says Alex Yong, deputy general manager of UEM Sunrise.
Recalling an incident where he chanced upon a juvenile tapir darting across the road while travelling to Kuala Selangor, Yong adds: “Seeing the tapir out of its element and on the road made this entire campaign seem even more pertinent and relevant. It drew home a point that we can lose our animals to development. As forests are being cleared for road expansions, townships and agriculture, these animals are losing their homes.”
The campaign saw Yong and his team curate and put together several partners to showcase the Malayan tapir consisting of the Malaysian Nature Society, Department of Wildlife & National Parks, local arts collective ArtSemble and Penang Performing Arts Centre. One of the highlights of the campaign is the amazing 3,000 tapir clay figurines on display put together by ArtSemble.
MALAYSIAN IDENTITY
The figurines on display depict the Malayan tapir interpreted in all forms of shapes and sizes. A sea of tapirs on a white background tells a story of how tiny hands have lovingly moulded and recreated this species, bespeaking the efforts of a group of art lecturers who took to the road to promote art and conservation at schools and kindergartens around Peninsular Malaysia.
Aiming to promote local art, design and culture, and making it accessible to a wider audience, ArtSemble consists of a unique group of artists and lecturers who have varied specialisations in different art forms. “We wanted our first art project to be one that could tell a story as well as reflect our Malaysian culture,” says co-founder Andrew Pok.
The soft spoken bespectacled man goes on to explain: “There is a Chinese phrase si bu xiang which is loosely translated as ‘taking the appearance of four’. The tapir resembles the pig and the elephant, and yet is closely related to the horse and the rhinoceros. Despite the resemblances and the close relations to other animals, the tapir is very much a species of its own.”
Thoughtfully, Pok surmises: “To us, it is an interpretation of what Malaysia is all about. We come from different cultures and backgrounds, yet we are not defined by them. We are Malaysians, and to us, the tapir is the best representation of who we are as a nation.”
MALAYSIAN OUTREACH
With the tapir being their main focus, Pok and his band of lecturers decided to approach schools and kindergartens and get them to buy in to their idea of promoting art while raising awareness on the Malayan tapir to schoolchildren.
“It wasn’t easy at all!” says Chong Kean Foong, who along with Pok and six other lecturers, co-founded ArtSemble. “We tried writing formal letters at first but weren’t getting any response at all. Finally, we just decided to walk in to the schools and kindergartens to speak directly with them,” he recalls.
It took a bit of convincing but the schools soon warmed up to their project. Chong adds: “We supplied all the art materials, and we were on hand to guide and teach them to craft these figurines using clay. Using art as a tool, the message of the tapir and its urgent need for conservation were imparted to the students.”
MALAYSIAN JOURNEY
Still, the project was not without its challenges. “It was a difficult journey,” acknowledges Pok. “We were juggling between our day jobs and trying to get the project off the ground.” The lecturers pooled in their own money for starters, and went on road shows to schools and kindergartens when they could spare the time.
“The money soon ran out and we turned to crowdfunding to raise some funds for the project,” recalls Pok. He adds that most of the funds went towards getting the materials to make the clay figurines. “It took us almost two years to get a display of this magnitude. We conducted art workshops for students, and visited schools whenever we could.”
The deceptively simple looking figurines on display belie the amount of work the actual process of making them entailed.
While the students did the basic moulding into tapir shapes under the watchful eyes of their art mentors, Pok and his team had to gather these figurines together, paint them and send them for firing at a kiln in Ipoh. “They are sent for firing twice. One to harden the figurines after the moulding, and the second to set the paint pigments once we painted them and for glazing which results in a glossy surface,” explains Chong. “The challenge was to ensure that these pieces don’t end up being damaged while being transported here and there given their fragile quality!” says Pok, chuckling.
The installation displaying these figurines is a testament to their journey which took them almost two years to complete. “We really wanted to make a difference,” declares Pok. “Art can be an amazing platform to reach out to people. ArtSemble was founded with the intention to make art accessible to everyone, and in the process, give back to the community around us.”
Looking at the display with unmistakable pride etched on his face, Pok concludes: “In this instance, we’re not just helping to nurture young artistic talents, but we’re telling young people that conserving nature will help future generation of artists to continue to find inspiration in the natural world around them.”
WHISTLING CANDLE
1. The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) is the largest of the four species of tapirs around the world, and the only one to reside in Asia.
2. The Malayan tapir lives in tropical rainforests and is a solitary creature.
3. Malayan tapirs have notoriously poor eyesight. They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing.
4. Malayan tapir has a large stocky body with a prominent prehensile proboscis that is formed by an extended nose and upper lip.
5. They’re usually docile animals but can pack in a vicious bite with their strong teeth when threatened.
6. The Malayan Tapir is black apart from a light coloured saddle over its back and rump. As a primarily nocturnal creature, this distinctive coloration provides very effective camouflage especially at night, as these creatures are primarily, though not exclusively, nocturnal.
7. Exclusively vegetarian, the Malayan tapir forages for tender shoots and leaves of more than 115 species of plants.
8. They communicate mostly through whistling! They go by a different range of whistles and duration.
9. A “candle” is used to describe a group of tapirs.
10. Malayan tapirs are endangered on both the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and the United States Endangered Species Act list and an Appendix I status in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora appendices. The most serious threat to Malayan tapir survival is that of forest conversion for agriculture and human settlement.
Source: Tapir Specialist Group, WWF for Nature and Animaldiversity.org