Orangutan murals raise awareness - 13th November 2020

London artist Louis Masai has been painting huge murals of orangutans in major cities around the UK.

Part of the "Protect Pongo" campaign, the murals aim to increase public awareness of the plight of the orangutan. Companies farming palm oil, a key ingredient in many commercially produced foods, are clearing forests in Borneo which are home to these rare apes. This is threatening the creatures' survival.

Masai hopes his murals will spark conversations on species in decline.

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."

Masai's orangutans resemble stuffed toys knitted together from patterned squares. His work catches the eye thanks to this vivid patchwork style.

Masai's colourful skills have also been used to publicise the plight of London's eel population. Once plentiful in the city's waterways, eels are now endangered due to high levels of water 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."