Artist draws attention to apes - 13th November 2020

Louis Masai, an artist from London, has been bringing his unique patchwork street art to major British cities in a series of striking, large-scale murals of orangutans in an effort to draw public attention to the species' loss of habitat.

The survival of the Bornean orangutan is in jeopardy due to deforestation, as companies fell trees to farm palm oil, which can be found in close to 50 per cent of the packaged products stocked in supermarkets.

Part of the "Protect Pongo" campaign, the murals are seen by their creator as a way of shedding light on the destruction wreaked by palm oil.

Louis Masai: "And I think it's a bygone day when you just paint purely for the sake of painting. There's so much to talk about right now, we are inundated with pieces of information that need to be shared."

Instantly recognisable due to its vivid colours and vibrant graphic style, Masai's orangutans could easily be mistaken for plush toys stitched together from quilt-like patterned squares.

Louis is currently turning his attention to an endangered animal closer to home: the eel. Previously abundant in London's tidal waterways, now it is barely clinging on, facing extinction owing to the high levels of pollution.

Louis Masai: "But it's also an opportunity for a much wider, sort of, conversation to be had, that people need to live more in harmony with nature and allow nature to thrive."