Yearly, Wildlife Artist of the Yr (WAY) brings collectively world-class creativity and conservation. This yr’s exhibition has been marked by some stella new additions to the lineup – our WAY Luminaries, a gaggle of inspiring figures from throughout artwork, pictures, design, activism, and tradition.
Every Luminary shares DSWF’s values and imaginative and prescient, utilizing their platform to champion wildlife, nature, and the tales that encourage us to behave. For his or her 2025 debut, they’ve every chosen a favorite paintings from the exhibition that displays their passions and views.
Listed here are the 2025 Luminaries and their chosen items.
Summary World – The Cameron Twins
Chosen work: Galapagos Penguin by Ruby Addison
Similar twin artists Abigail and Phebe Cameron are recognized for his or her daring, surreal type, which invitations audiences to reimagine the world by means of color and creativity. Their playful perspective mirrors DSWF’s mission to encourage new methods of seeing and defending wildlife.
They chose Galapagos Penguin by Ruby Addison, a chunk impressed by the IUCN Purple Checklist and created in oil on canvas. Ruby’s work raises consciousness for one of many rarest penguin species on Earth, highlighting the fragility of animals vulnerable to extinction. With 1000’s of brushstrokes reflecting the penguin’s distinctive palette, the portray captures each magnificence and urgency, a message near DSWF’s coronary heart.
Animal Behaviour – Andy Parkinson
Chosen work: On Skinny Ice by Sarah Holmes
One in all Europe’s most awarded wildlife photographers, Andy Parkinson is famend for his uncompromisingly moral method, capturing wild, free animals with dignity and respect. His ethos aligns straight with DSWF’s values of integrity and compassion in conservation.
Andy’s alternative, On Skinny Ice by Sarah Holmes, depicts a polar bear looking on shrinking Arctic ice. Rendered in charcoal, the piece conveys each the movement and uncooked intent of the bear, whereas symbolising the precariousness of its survival. For Sarah, capturing fleeting moments of sunshine within the darkness displays her ardour for the pure world; for DSWF, it’s a reminder of the species we combat to guard.
Earth’s Wild Magnificence – Amechi
Chosen work: The Track of Nature 5 by Ze Ze Lai
Winner of Home & Backyard’s Rising Star award, designer Amechi attracts on Nigerian and Cameroonian heritage to create work rooted in tradition, id, and nature. His perception in group engagement and ancestral connections to land displays DSWF’s precept of securing sustainable futures for each individuals and wildlife.
He selected The Track of Nature 5 by Ze Ze Lai, an acclaimed Hong Kong watercolour artist. Impressed by nature’s energy to amaze, the portray celebrates forests, mountains, and oceans in mushy, dream-like tones. Ze Ze’s work speaks to awe and belonging, a celebration of Earth’s wild magnificence that resonates with Amechi and with DSWF’s mission.
Environmental Artivism – Ped Millichamp
Chosen work: Damaged Dwelling by Zoe Fitchet
Head of Design at The London Normal, Ped Millichamp is a grasp of daring, message-driven storytelling. His sharp visible voice displays DSWF’s drive to chop by means of the noise and make pressing conservation points unimaginable to disregard.
His chosen piece, Damaged Dwelling by Zoe Fitchett, makes use of combined media to depict a forest transitioning into barren wasteland. A herd of elephants emerges towards a backdrop of charred stumps and stark shadows, a haunting reminder of the devastation attributable to deforestation. For each Zoe and Ped, it’s an paintings that calls for consideration and galvanises change, embodying the urgency of environmental artivism.
Dealing with Extinction – Wawa Gatheru
Chosen work: A Contract with Nature – Puffin by Angela Knapp
Kenyan-American local weather activist and Forbes 30 Below 30 honouree Wawa Gatheru is inspiring a technology of latest environmentalists. Her deal with inclusive, intersectional local weather justice displays DSWF’s perception that defending wildlife goes hand in hand with empowering individuals and communities.
Wawa’s chosen work, A Contract with Nature by Angela Knapp, is a hand-embroidered puffin stitched onto Nineteenth-century indenture parchment. By difficult viewers to make a “contract” with endangered species, Angela asks whether or not puffins, and so many different birds, will survive solely in books if we fail to behave. The fragility of her chosen medium echoes the fragility of the species it depicts, resonating deeply with the Dealing with Extinction class.
Into the Blue – Alfredo Barroso and Liisa Juuti
Chosen work: Glacier Polar Bear Portrait by Tanya Russell
As Emmy and BAFTA-winning filmmakers greatest recognized for Blue Planet II, Alfredo Barroso and Liisa Juuti reveal the hidden great thing about marine life. Their work aligns with DSWF’s mission to showcase the pure world and encourage motion to guard it.
They chose Tanya Russell’s Glacier Polar Bear Portrait, a putting foundry bronze patinated in shades of blue to reflect glacier ice. At scale, the work highlights the immense presence of the polar bear, an everlasting image of local weather change and vanishing habitats. For Alfredo, Liisa, and DSWF, it’s a name to guard our oceans and the species that rely on them.
“This sculpture holds energy and precarity in the identical breath. The faceted, glacial floor feels wind-carved; the lifted gaze carries dignity over sentimentality. Its weight is poised on a base that reads like calving ice… power held over a vanishing footing. An unmistakably private type meets assured craft, honouring the bear as a person whereas talking, quietly and urgently, to the local weather disaster”
Alfredo Barroso and Liisa Juuti
Wings – Mya-Rose Craig (Chicken Lady)
Chosen work: Liquid Gold by Madeline Downham (M. Winter)
At 23, ornithologist, writer, and campaigner Dr. Mya-Rose Craig, often known as “Chicken Lady”, is an inspiring advocate for birds and biodiversity. Her deal with variety in nature displays DSWF’s personal dedication to creating conservation inclusive and galvanizing for all.
She selected Liquid Gold by Madeline Downham, a mixed-media piece that includes a singing wren painted onto a golden beechwood field. Shy and secretive, the wren is elevated right into a treasure with its music a reminder of the surprise even in widespread species. For Mya-Rose and for DSWF, it symbolises the on a regular basis magic of wildlife that should be celebrated and guarded.
Youth Unique – Max Denison-Pender
Chosen work: Important Coexistence by Soomin Chang
Classically educated painter Max Denison-Pender is fearless in utilizing artwork to spark change. By way of tasks like “Artwork within the Excessive,” he has proven how storytelling can drive consciousness and amplify ignored voices, a precept shared by DSWF.
Max’s alternative, Important Coexistence by Soomin (Emma) Chang, options two Dall sheep rendered in vibrant colors as an alternative of white, their heads collectively in a gesture of unity. The work symbolises variety and the pressing want for people and wildlife to coexist. Created by a ninth-grade pupil from South Korea, it embodies the hope and creativity of the following technology, completely reflecting the Youth Unique class.
A Celebration of Creativity and Conservation
The 2025 Luminaries remind us that artwork is greater than magnificence, it’s storytelling, activism, and a catalyst for change. From surreal reimaginings to daring design and complex embroidery, their chosen works mirror DSWF’s mission to guard endangered species and empower communities.
Collectively, they show that when artwork and conservation come collectively, they’ll encourage world motion and lasting influence.
📅 Wildlife Artist of the Yr 2025 runs 9–13 September on the Mall Galleries, London.
🎟 Discover out extra about this yr’s programme → www.davidshepherd.org/occasions/wildlife-artist-of-the-year-2025
