Biodiversity - The Passion

My Island My Home Front Cover: Illustration : R.Swainston This Ant Plant from forms a bulbous root full of chambers, tree ants nest in them. Small lizards lay eggs in the larger protected rooms. Lichen, a climbing fern and an orchid cling to this island of life 20m above the forest floor.

Roger Swainston - Field drawing in Vanuatu rainforest, 2006, Graphite on film 90 x 90 cm Biodiversity -The Passion the project

R. Swainston painting

An art and science project about life on earth that will produce an international book and traveling exhibition to audiences world wide.

Taking Biodiversity to the world :

An investigation and portrayal of biodiversity in 8 astounding locations from around the world, in the forest on land and under the sea.

An inspirational adventure to captivate, educate and communicate to the world the importance of biodiversity in our 21st century.

You are invited to join us on this remarkable journey. Biodiversity - The Passion

Roger Swainston - Red Sea Reef 1997, acrylic on paper 240 x 150 cm - Collection of James & Leah Roscic Biodiversity - The Passion “

For a scientist, biodiversity is the variety of life studied on 3 levels : the ecosystem, the species of which the ecosystem is composed a brief outline of the project and the genes which can be found in those species. “ Arthur Tansley

Text

Clipperton Island - Vanuatu - - Ningaloo - Daintree - Indonesia - Mozambique - Amazon Xavier Desmier photos.

At each of these locations an in depth visual exploration of underwater and All this material will be assembled as a spectacular and inspiring book. terrestrial ecosystems will be made by the project team. The compelling images will be complemented by writings from a number of prominent authors, including Tim Winton, and individuals from the Artist Roger Swainston will make large detailed drawings of these sites. areas visited, examining biodiversity from many perspectives : Supported by extensive visual surveys, photography and scientific expertise -Emotional - Philosophical - Social - Scientific - Historical - Economic. from around the world he will create large panoramic paintings portraying the intricate workings of the these ecosystems, as well as intimate portraits of individual species found there. Multimedia exhibitions will be mounted and displayed nationally and internationally, and will include the paintings, photographs, writings, Photographer Xavier Desmier will document this process and depict high definition video images and documentary footage. elements of the ecology impossible to capture by the artist. His images will place the site in context with it’s surroundings- geological, environmental, Throughout the project an informative and educational website/blog will social, and capture the constant flow of interactions between the species. be maintained and promoted to schools. We will also work to identify what is needed to help preserve the various sites on the ground and encourage this through the linking of local people to sources of funding and expertise. Biodiversity - The Passion

R.Swainston - 2005, acrylic on paper 50 x 90 cm - Collection Gaz de

R.Swainston - Lagoon, 1994, acrylic on paper 40 x 110 cm Photo : X.Desmier: Whale Shark, Coral Bay 2002 Biodiversity - The Passion our goals - our vision

R. Swainston painting : Strap-Tooth Whale

- To inspire a positive and emotional response to the concept of biodiversity.

- To captivate, educate and communicate to a wide audience the presence and importance of biodiversity.

- To create a collection of great artworks and the thoughts of world renown writers as a lasting testimony to the riches, the beauty and vital importance of our wild places in the 21st century.

- To share, using art and science combined, knowledge of biodiversity, otherwise inaccessible in the archives of museums and institutions. Biodiversity - The Passion what the project offers you

R. Swainston painting : Iguana

Associating the company image and reputation with this The rights to magnificent images for company presentation and beautiful and unique project in the present and for the future. promotion.

Making a vital contribution to the understanding and protection of nature The opportunity to accompany expeditions to these remarkable locations. and biodiversity. Original artworks and limited editions will be offered to our partners. Perpetuating your name and will to future generations. Acknowledgment: Allowing a worldwide audience to become conscious that it is a necessity - in the book and prominently at the exhibitions, to preserve biodiversity on a global scale. - press releases and magazines nationally and internationally, - on television reportage and documentary footage, Being seen on a wide scale by a large public, local, national and - on the website. international. Biodiversity - The Passion

R. Swainston painting : Bluefin Trevally what the project needs from you

X. Desmier photos : Red Sea, Clipperton Island Your participation can be on two levels :

Financial Support for one or more expeditions: A Trust will be created to receive all funds. - To enable the principal artists and assistants to visit the sites and to . carry out fieldwork. - The Trust will use the money exclusively to further the aims of the project. - To allow the subsequent assembling of all material and preparation of - Excess funds from one expedition will be redirected towards the next, the artworks in the studio. - To cover costs involved in mounting the exhibitions. funds remaining upon completion, towards the exhibitions. - To allow tax deductible donations, the Trust will join an appropriate non- Technical Assistance providing essential equipment: profit organisation. - Transport, accommodation or other services for the expeditions. - Any major donator will be invited to nominate a representative to be on - Material assistance in mounting the multimedia exhibitions.. the Trust Board and assist at the Annual Meeting. Biodiversity - The Passion

our partners - places already visited

R. Swainston painting

Text

X. Desmier photos NINGALOO - Western SANTOS ISLAND - Vanuatu CLIPPERTON - Eastern Pacific

Organized by Anima Organized by Pro-natura International Organized by Doctor Jean-Louis Etienne With the support of: With the support of: With the support of : - Anima, - Total Foundation, - Gaz De France Foundation, Unilever, - Tim Winton - Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation, - Under the patronage of Mr J.Chirac, President of the - Press : ABC Television reportage-Australia, Thalassa FR3 - Museum of Natural History - France Republique of France Television- France - Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement - Press : Canal + TV, Thalassa FR3 Television - Press : National Geographic, Terre Sauvage National Geographic- France, SBS Television

Several sites have been extensively surveyed along Vanuatu was visited by Roger and Xavier in The two artists have participated in a 4 month the Ningaloo Reef and site drawings prepared as 2006 when they formed part of an extensive survey of remote Clipperton Island in the well as extensive photography. Work is under way biological survey of Santos Island by an Eastern Pacific, a fascinating area with perhaps on the first large artwork. Terrestrial work remains international team of scientists. Many paintings the lowest marine biodiversity to be found to be carried out. and photos have been made. anywhere in the world. Biodiversity - The Passion

projects under way Your support is vital.

R. Swainston painting

Photos various sources. MILNE BAY - Papua New Guinea MOZAMBIQUE - MADAGASCAR DAINTREE FOREST AND GREAT BARRIER REEF - Australia

Organized by Anima Organized by Pro-natura International Organized by Anima With the support of: With the support of: With the support of: - David Hannan. - Museum of Natural History - Paris - France. - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. - Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. - Jock Clough, logistical support for the work on the David Hannan - Emmy award winning Daintree Forest and Reef sites. underwater cinematographer will provide high The project will form part of an extensive survey The sites will be chosen in 2009 and a date definition video footage for the exhibitions and of the forests of Mozambique and the ecosystems decided upon for the fieldwork to be carried out. technical assistance for the expedition. It is of the ocean around Madagascar. An incredible proposed to begin work on the chosen site in team of scientists from around the world will 2010 - 2011. gather to work on these sites in November 2009 for Mozambique exploration and April 2010 for Madagascar. Biodiversity - The Passion

R. Swainston painting

In the late 90’s he held successful solo exhibitions in and Fremantle and, commissioned by the Education Department, completed a 7m x 1.5m X. Desmier photo panoramic painting of life on WA coastal reefs. In 2004 he was commissioned to create a series of large wall panels for the WA Fisheries Research and Education facility. Roger Swainston : In 2005 he spent 2 months on remote Clipperton Island with a team of scientists studying and portraying the environment of this remote atoll. He also spent several months in 2006 as part of a worldwide team of Growing up surrounded by the diverse flora and fauna of Australia’s south- scientists, in Vanuatu surveying, drawing and painting biodiversity, from west laid the foundations of Roger’s lifelong passion for the natural world. the ocean floor to the virgin rainforest on the mountains of Santos Island. In 1983 with a degree in Zoology from University of he For the past 10 years he has been working along the Ningaloo Reef, worked on fish taxonomy with the Western Australian Museum and took drawing, surveying and monitoring 5 different sites. part in field surveys of the southern Australian fish populations and life in the ocean depths off the Northwest Shelf. Always observing the natural Collected and represented : world as both an artist and a scientist he began paintings for the first of - Australian National Archives. many guide books to fishes and marine life. Since then he has created over - Ministry of the Environment, Paris France. 6000 illustrations for museums, editors and scientific institutions such as - FAO, Rome, Italy. CSIRO, the Smithsonian Institute, United Nations FAO and many others. - Museum des Arts et Traditions Populaires, Paris, France. In the early 90’s he moved to France, further developed and diversified his - Foundation Gaz de France. work for clients such as the French Ministry for the Environment and held several successful exhibitions. - Museum Oceanique de Monaco, Monaco. In 1995 he was the subject of a documentary, widely broadcast in Europe - Western Australian Museum, Australia. and around the world, to survey and portray a coral reef in the Red Sea off - CSIRO Australia, Education Dept WA, Australia. . The project saw Roger create a large scale underwater drawing, - Fisheries Research and Education Facility, Western Australia. and subsequent painting, which displayed both an artist’s appreciation of - Woodside Petroleum, Australia. the extraordinary beauty of the subject and a scientist’s understanding of - Prince De Broglie - Deyrolle, France. the diversity and complexity of the reef. - Private collections Worldwide. Biodiversity - The Passion

R. Swainston painting

X. Desmier photo Xavier Desmier :

It was in Meudon in 1960 that Xavier came up for air for the first time. At He was a part of the Titanic expedition, brought back images from wrecks eight, he saw Jacques Cousteau’s film “The World of Silence” and discovered in Micronesia, worked on the greatest lagoon in the world in New the underwater planet and with it, evidence of his own beginnings. With Caledonia. He then photographed the archeological research in Marseilles, the energy of those who have found their passion, he was able to join the the salt production in Guerande, Atlantic coast of France. Cousteau team in 1981 as a diver and participated in a series of missions : His photographs are regularly published in magazines and newspapers the Antilles islands, two years in the Amazon, the Mississippi, three months around the world, for whom he also works on assignment. His images are of drifting through the Gulf Stream. In 1986, he left the Cousteau team to published in National Geographic, Geo, Figaro Magazine, Express, New freelance joining the Cedri Agency and working as a cameraman on more York Times, Time Magazine and many more. than 40 films for the Thalassa television program on the French Channel 3. He also went back to his still cameras, photographing the greatest chefs- In 1998 he received the World Press first prize in the Environment d’oeuvres of the French artistic patrimony for Larousse. category for his subject on Killer Whales in the Crozet Archepelago. Since then he has photographed the Guinea mangroves in Mauritania, He spent six months in the Southern seas and returned from Patagonia, the returned to the Crozet Archipelago for National Geographic and spent 4 Falkland Islands and the Antarctic peninsula with all the essential images. months documenting Clipperton Atoll in the Eastern Pacific. In 1993, he joined Rapho Agency, bringing together his personal research and his penchant for reportage, Annecy lake: the fauna, flora, fish, sub- In 2005-2006 he travelled to Canada and Greenland and spent 4 months aquatic archeology, 6 month in Corsica on the Scandola reserve. in Vanuatu with the Museum of Natural History, Paris. Biodiversity - The Passion

R. Swainston painting

We should not for a minute assume that forests, rivers, reefs and their inhabitants are permanent features of our landscape. This vital work will contribute towards a greater awareness and help ensure the sustainability of such magnificent habitats.

Future generations will need to understand the essence of biodiversity and create imaginative solutions for its preservation.

Through the underwater and forest explorations, patient investigation, observation and inspired creation, we will bring to a large audience, scenes never before portrayed.

The book and the exhibitions will attract a diverse audience. Lovers of nature, lovers of art, students, young and old alike will be able to see the fantastic results of these world renown artists.

Contact : Contact :

Catherine Julien Xavier Desmier 27, Market Street - Suite 14 114, Quer Rue Damremont Fremantle 6162 75018 Paris Western Australia France Tel : +61 (08)9430 66 80 Tel : +33 (0)1 55 79 99 48 E-mail : [email protected] Mobile : +33 (0)6 62 23 88 61 E-mail : [email protected]