Winston’s fate: Help to save the elephants by buying a limited edition print

Blue Diprosopus; a limited edition print by Dubai-based artist Matthew Ryder. Proceeds of the sales go towards the Big Life Foundation. Image courtesy of Matthew Ryder

Meet Winston the elephant. Winston is an African elephant who was photographed by wildlife photographer Nick Brendt and who captured the heart of Matthew Ryder. Ryder is an incredibly talented Dubai-based artist who painted Winston from Brendt’s photograph and has recently produced a series of prints to depict his story.

“Shortly after being photographed, Winston was killed for his ivory. For the painting I wanted to capture the beauty of him but also show Winston fading away,” says Ryder. “Or maybe he is emerging from the dark, it depends how you view it.”

The folds of Winston’s skin and the depth in his eyes are captured brilliantly in Ryder’s painting and the tragic tale of slaughter for the ivory trade is depicted in two other paintings, Blue Diprosopus and Green Diprosopus.

“These ae dream-like paintings looking at the two sides of these magnificent elephants,” says Ryder. “Beauty and Adversity are the two words that I had in mind when I painted them. Although the subject matter may be uncomfortable for some, there is a beauty in the dark of these pieces that holds you and invites you in, something that translated very well from the original work, to these fine art prints.”

All three pieces are limited to 25 prints each. They will be hand signed and numbered and come with a certificate of authenticity. They cost Dh600 and 5% of the proceeds will be donated to the Big Life foundation, a charity that Nick formed to help put an end to stories like Winston’s.

You can purchase them directly through email - [e-mail] or through Ryder's fan page - www.facebook.com/mattryderwildlifeart