In 2006, a man named Mike Spits visited an elephant hospital
while in Thailand. When he encountered Mosha, the first elephant to receive a
prosthetic leg, he was inspired to create an organization to support the Asian
elephant and prevent extinction.
The first Elephant Parade was presented in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands, and this year, Singapore had the pleasure of hosting more than 160
specially-decorated elephants throughout the city.
Elephants started appearing in front of office buildings and
shopping centers in November and, gradually, the numbers grew. Last week, all
of the elephants were on display on the lawn of the Botanic Gardens.
The elephants were displayed in four positions: one
standing, with the trunk down; one laying down with the trunk up, playful; one
where the elephant was positioned on its behind with its legs and truck in the
air and the fourth, seated like a dog in the “sit” position.
Designs were painted, decoupaged, sewn and bolted to the
elephants; the heaviest elephant weighed in at more than 400 kilograms (880
pounds).
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| This elephant was made entirely of nuts! |
Some of my favorites included the Singapore elephant:
This multi-colored masterpiece:
And Sir Mix-A-Lot here:
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| Why, yes, this elephant does say, "I LIKE BIG TRUNKS AND I CANNOT LIE" |
Ok I have a lot of favorites.
One of the most interesting aspects to me was the elephant’s
eyes. Though each artist was provided a basic, white elephant and every
elephant was the same, the eyes were fashioned in many, many ways.
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| This one looks so sad |
I really liked this elephant, aptly named Durian after the
very popular and very smelly fruit. So cute!
Miniature elephants, replicas of worldwide Elephant Parade
submissions were for sale along with a book that explains the history and highlights
each Singaporean selection by artist and inspiration.
I bought my own little mini as a keepsake for this one-of-a-kind
event.
The large elephants that were on display were auctioned off over three days in order to raise funds for the Asian elephant's preservation. Here are some more photos of more favorites:
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| Christmas ornaments |
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| This one is covered in lace |
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| According to :Paul, this elephant played Angry Birds waaaay too much |
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