Elixirs of Absence

This surrealist artwork features a mother pangolin and her pup curl together at the centre of a lush, moonlit jungle rendered in deep midnight blues and gold, their overlapping scales glowing warmly against the cool darkness of the surrounding foliage. Scattered throughout the dense tropical undergrowth are small glass jars and vials, silent symbols of the illegal wildlife trade that makes these creatures the world’s most trafficked mammal, turning a scene of tender maternal intimacy into a quiet but devastating conservation plea.