Brazilian Painter Brings Attention to Threatened Amazon Rainforest

 

Brazilian artist Mundano has used the remains¹ of burned trees from the Amazon rainforest to create a huge painting in Sao Paulo.

The mural painting on the side of a building shows a firefighter standing² among fallen trees, fires and dead animals.

"I'm using evidence of the crime," said Mundano. He calls the 1,000-square-metre artwork an act of "artivism". The word artivism suggests a link between art and activism.

Mundano travelled more than 10,000 kilometers across Brazil during June and July. He collected the remains of burned trees and plants from the Amazon rainforest, the Pantanal wetland area, the Cerrado tropical³ savannah and the Atlantic Forest.

He also met with firefighters and volunteers to listen to their stories.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has struggled to keep a promise to end illegal forest clearing in the Amazon area. It is the world's largest rainforest. His calls for more farming and mining have, in some cases, led to increases in illegal forest clearing.

In August, satellites images recorded 28,060 fires in the Brazilian Amazon area.

Scientists say the Amazon plays an important part in easing⁴ the effects of climate change. Its plant life takes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and stores it.

"This mural is a protest⁵, a cry for help," said Mundano. "I support fire brigades and also for this fire culture to stop, it's leading us to self-destruction."

Words in This Story

savannah – n. a large flat area of land with grass and very few trees especially in Africa and South America

mural – n. a usually large painting that is done directly on the surface of a wall

brigade – n. a group of people organized to act together

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 tropical   

adj.热带的，热带的，炎热的

参考例句：

• You must grow these tropical flowers in a glasshouse.你必须把这些热带花卉种在温室里。
• This disease is widespread in tropical areas.这种疾病在热带地区蔓延很广。

4 easing   

松开，放松

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains. 桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• Everywhere at about the same time the work was easing off. 几乎在同一时候，到处工作都搞完了。 来自英汉文学

5 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。