Belgian street artist ROA travels around the world painting giant murals of animals to raise awareness for their plight, living in a world where they are constantly under threat from human activities like hunting, fishing, and pollution.
He draws attention to the paintings by using carefully-chosen poses and positions, and imbuing them with expressive details.
For instance, a painting he did in Sweden of a narwhal caught in a fishing line shows how they and other species become victims of hunting and pollution.
Another piece of a rotting badger painted on a dilapidated building in Chichester earlier this year caused an uproar on grounds that it was “not appropriate” and “grotesque”. While controversial, the mural brought attention to the campaign against Great Britain's badger cull plans.
The murals symbolize the imbalanced relationship animals have with humans, and provide a voice to animals who cannot speak. Each image has a story to tell but all of them have one simple message that ties them together, which is that we need to treat animals better.
View more of ROA’s work below.
[via Brooklyn Street Art, images by ROA via Brooklyn Street Art]