Nara deer and Venice swans

Animals are returning to their rightful habitat, which had been taken over by humans for their own needs. This piece represents the Japanese Nara deer, which were confined to the deer sanctuary in Nara Prefecture, Japan. After the Covid-19 lockdowns were imposed, many of them have been sighted wandering around what used to be highly dense metropolitan areas, like Tokyo and Kyoto. The second portion of my drawing depicts deer roaming in miniature city crosswalks and parks, bringing back fauna that was missing from these metropolitan places. Interestingly these, Nara deer are known as sacred and are considered messengers of the gods. The messengers of the Shinto gods returning to the human-made world is auspicious.

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This painting is approximately 4x6 inches and was done using watercolor paint. It depicts the reappearance of the swans that once roamed the Venice canals regularly, at the expense of human isolation indoors. It represents the contrast we see between the natural world and the urban setting in the present day. The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a shift in the dynamic between man and nature, where nature is metaphorically reclaiming its throne. This image is reminiscent of the dichotomy between man and nature in the Epic of Gilgamesh, where man ends up taking over the natural world at the end of it all. Gilgamesh himself ends up being shunned by the wild because of his new sense of civilization and integration within the human world. The idea that man/ the urban setting has the power to manipulate the natural world has been a popular form of thought from the time of Gilgamesh to modern times, yet we see the exact opposite occurring as of recent. The Earth is fully capable of taking over our civilizations and lifestyles, as it has done so by creating a disease that goes against human comfort and has allowed nature to thrive. This is due to the lack of negative byproducts that come from the presence of humans such as pollution. In the specific case of the Venice canals, the sediment within the water has settled as a result of a halt in boat transportation, leading to clearer waters and less populated canals for swans to wander. I chose to do this piece in conjunction with Samiur’s drawing of deers roaming the city streets of Japan because I thought it would be nice to focus on a positive aspect of the pandemic, amidst all the negativity and loss we have been experiencing. The plants and animals flourishing on account of the pandemic is, in a way, a sort of silver lining of the situation that pains the human world, today.

By Samiur Turija and Tatiana Rampersaud