Artist Statement:
The “Forest Hands” were inspired by a doodle Wongela created while interning at UNEP. Working with international communities trying to find solutions to deforestation and land degradation was a fascinating but devastating subject that left her feeling furious at the misuse of our resources. During one of her lunch hours, she doodled a photo of mother nature giving us a big middle finger. The image showed a personification of a tree being cut down by an ant (a metaphor for human beings), while the veins of the hand acted as the roots of the trees. Now she has recreated it in the Forest Fire room. The human hands represent the roles we played in creating this destruction, and that we still have power to make it better.
Artist Bio:
Wongela's deep commitment to environmental conservation began at the age of 8 in Tanzania when she joined an environmental awareness club. She grew up watching notable speakers like Jane Goodall give powerful talks on the importance of biodiversity, planting trees with local communities, and interning at NGOs. This formed her identity as an environmentalist and she later went on to study Natural Resource Conservation at UBC.
Climate Anxiety is a topic Wongela is very familiar with. She hopes to use the unease created by the imminent destruction of our planet to create art that raises awareness and inspires action among communities. She loves the challenge of working with as little as possible, and often incorporates recycled materials in her art. She has also done other projects like @TimeNomads: an interactive installation that intends to explore mental health, one of the prominent issues affecting Canadians today.
Check out her website/Instagram to see what she’s up to these days: