Hiding in the Mountain - Mountain Gorilla (Endangered) Drawing

Cara is a practicing Artist and Textile Designer based in Scotland. Graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 2020 with an MFA in Textiles, her work often involves illustrative depictions of the natural world. After taking an environmental design module - it became clear that something needed to be done in answer to the catastrophic impact that humanity was having on different species. For this reason, her graduate print design collection: "A Walk into the Wild" was created. It was formed to highlight the sheer extent to which animals are becoming endangered. After graduating at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, a lot of the work remained unseen in storage; its initial purpose unfulfilled. For this reason, Cara recently hosted a solo exhibition at the Saltspace Gallery (December 2023) with the hope to draw attention to the rapid loss of species and to highlight the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, which influenced her work. The exhibition included a combination of fine art pieces: drawings and textiles produced in recent years and during her Masters of Fine Art. Artist statement for 2024: “My work is inspired by the natural world. I feel that art is a key tool in expressing ideas and dealing with emotions. I use my art as a response to situations and as a form of activism. Sometimes I paint beautiful landscapes when I want to imitate the colours or beauty in front of me; other times I draw or paint animals that I love and want to protect through highlighting their beauty or vulnerability. In short, I am inspired by nature and I want the viewer to see it from my perspective.”