HÀ NỘI — A clay and sculpture workshop entitled Tạo Ra Voi, Cứu Rỗi Voi (Make an Elephant – Save an Elephant), created and organised by Bulgarian artist George Burchett, has been held from September 26 to 30 at Heritage Space, Mỹ Đình 2 Ward, Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội.

The workshop is part of the programme Month of Arts Practice 2016, established by Heritage Space to promote interactive exchanges between the artist and the public.

Taking part in the workshop, participants are introduced to basic clay modeling and make a simple elephant with clay in order to raise awareness from public in respecting and protecting the elephants of Việt Nam which are in danger of becoming extinction.

All clay products will then be exhibited at the end of the project.

Burchett said his current concern, as an artist and a citizen of the world, is how to protect our natural environment. “By ‘natural’, I don’t mean only ‘nature’. I also mean traditional cultures, national customs, all things that make people and an individual unique. Every Vietnamese, old and young, is familiar with the image of the elephant as part of the history, legends, the spiritual and cultural identity of Việt Nam.

However, not many people are aware the elephants of Việt Nam are on the brink of extinction. Their disappearance will not only be an ecological disaster – for Việt Nam and the world – but also a tragic and irreversible loss to Việt Nam’s culture. Elephants played an important role in the country’s long and heroic history of defending the country against invaders. Now, it is the right time to repay the elephants by treating them with the same respect we have given to our war heroes and veterans,” he said.

George Burchett was born in Hà Nội in 1955. Having graduated with master degree in mural art from Fine Arts Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1974, he has lived and worked as an artist in Paris, Bulgaria, Sydney, and Australia. His works have been exhibited in Paris, Sofia, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Hà Nội, and northern Hòa Bình Province. He currently lives and works in Hà Nội. — VNS