Art for Endangered Eagles: Radical Joy Revealed

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Art for Endangered Eagles

Snake Eagle art made in honor of endangered eagles in a semi-desert area of South Africa. Photo by Lance Foster of Fluid Films

For thousands of years people have formed gigantic, mysterious images on the Earth. Impossible to discern close up, they may be assumed to be clearly visible to the gods.

Since last year a giant, magical figure exists in Matjiesfontain, South Africa that can clearly be seen, perhaps by gods, but certainly by Google Earth.

The Snake Eagle Thinking Path is a geoglyph created by Anni Snyman in collaboration with Janse van Rensburg and artists from Site_Specific Land Art, an organization dedicated to working with local communities to create land art that promotes awareness of the environment and social issues. The image honors a breeding pair of Black-Crested Snake Eagles resident in this area of Karoo, a semi-desert area of South Africa.

The artwork, which measures 558' x 187' wingtip to wingtip, aims to draw attention to the eagles and other species that are under threat because of gas fracking in Karoo. The eagle is made of one continuous line of stones, a design that invites the visitor to meander slowly along the path, reflecting along the way.

The artists say of the work: "The Snake Eagle drawing celebrates the unity of specie and habitat. The heart of the eagle is formed by two intertwining shapes that symbolise not only the food of the eagle, but also the flow of water in the nearby river, and the air currents that keep it aloft. It is impossible to split the essence of an eagle from the wide expanse of sky that it inhabits, nor should a snake be imagined without the ground, vegetation and water of its home."

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Radical Joy for Hard Times is a global community of people dedicated to finding and making beauty in wounded places. Reconnecting with these places, sharing our stories of loss, and making acts of beauty there, we transform the land, reconnect people and the places that nourish them, and empower ourselves to make a difference in the way we live on Earth.

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