Splash & Burn
Save Our Souls
A giant SOS distress call carved into a palm oil plantation calls attention to the ongoing destruction of the world’s rainforests.
Renowned Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic created the sign and leads the campaign from Sumatra, Indonesia to create awareness around the demise of iconic species such as the Sumatran orangutan and the effects deforestation has on the global climate.
Directors
Sean Lin & Nicholas Chin
Producer
Sean Lin
Artist
Ernest Zacharevic
Credits
Artist
Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
Art Assistant
Tiago Silva
Curator
Ernest Zacharevic
Coordinator
Charlotte Pyatt
Site Logistic
Orangutan Information Centre
Director/DP/Editor
Nicholas Chin
Produced by
Studio Birthplace
Producer
Sean Lin
Music by
Oliver Michael
Camera Assistant
Skaiste Kazragyte
Production Assistant
Bayu Topan
Additional Footage
Ernest Zacharevic
Sumatran Orangutan Society
Orangutan Information Centre
Orangutan Photographs
Tim Laman
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Splash & Burn
Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of palm oil, the harvesting of which has been shown to have extremely adverse effects on wildlife and natural resources, including deforestation, fires, and the displacement of people and animals.
In early 2017 Zacharevic started Splash and Burn, an art campaign run with Sumatran Orangutan Society which sought to use art in critical areas to give rise to a wider conversation on unsustainable palm oil farming in Southeast Asia and globally. SOS is the latest installment of the project.
The concept came to life through months of collaboration between NGO's and charitable organizations; The Orangutan Information Centre, The Sumatran Orangutan Society, LUSH, the involvement of various creatives, Studio Birthplace and with help from local communities.
“From the ground, you would not suspect anything more than just another palm oil plantation, the aerial view however reveals an SOS distress signal. ‘Save Our Souls’ is a message communicated to those at a distance, a reminder of the connection we share with nature. As more of the forests are lost, we lose a little bit of ourselves in the process."
Artist Ernest Zacharevic
The Campaign
The project involved several other art pieces and was widely featured on international media. The aim of the campaign is to communicate the magnitude of the problem to a wider audience, as well as provide creative outlook, hope, and inspiration to local communities and conservationists.
Production
To be able to restore the land for wildlife, the charity first needed to remove the oil palm trees, a monoculture crop not suitable for rainforest life to return to. Seizing the opportunity to send a dramatic message, Zacharevic and his team worked across approximately 20 hectares, carving a giant distress call into the landscape of the plantation.
To create the art work, the scale of the ‘canvas’ was identified using a drone. Using an iPad, the palm trees that would form the final image were marked on the drone photography.
The team then marked each palm tree using ribbons. The chainsaw crew cut down palm trees surrounding the marked trees, gradually revealing the final artwork.
