RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Understanding the beauty within an environment can be the first step towards finding a way to bring attention to it, according to a local artist — especially if the region is struggling to be noticed.
Cassandra Kim highlights local endangered species in her exhibit, “Rare in VA.” Each piece features an animal at the forefront with details of plants and insects scattered throughout.
The inspiration came from a conversation between Kim and a friend who works with at-risk animals. Anne Chazal, chief biologist for the Virginia Natural Heritage program, works to find rare species in Virginia and understand how well they’re doing in their habitats.
These animals, plants and insects may not be considered endangered at the federal or state level, but rather are part of a list of species considered “critically imperiled” or “imperiled.” Chazal categorizes this as “small ‘e’ endangered versus capital ‘E’ endangered.”
Kim started her collection painting “Big Sandy Crayfish,” an acrylic and oil paint piece that would later be placed in a restored antique frame. According to Kim, the vision was palpable but the hurdle to get it on paper was to clothe the animal and “figure out how it would wear it, with the arms, holding flowers and a butterfly.”
Kim focuses on details in her pieces. She says she wants the color of the crayfish to remind viewers that it belongs in the water, hoping this will make the species more recognizable in its natural state.
Kim credits her art to “the work that came before me by scientists and biologists” and wants viewers to take away a lesson that “big change can start with small things. If we all just do a little thing to help, big things can happen if we all do it together.”
The works are on display at Glave Kocen Petite, a gallery in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom neighborhood, from Dec. 2 through Dec. 23, 2023.
