Kiku

Elephant parade Kiku

Elephant name: Kiku
Artist: Chris Chun
Parade: UK Tour 2014

Inspiration: “Kiku is based off one of my paintings which was inspired by an antique kimono fabric I bought in Japan. One of the things I love about kimono fabrics are the rich colours, decorative embellishments and dramatic layout of patterns. I thought that my painting would look quite stunning on an elephant and in some ways, quite regal as there is a lot gold in it. After all, the elephants are majestic creatures.

I also added butterflies as they symbolise hope and freedom. It’s my way of wishing for elephants to be able to live in a safe and protected environment. Last year, I had the opportunity to spend the day learning how to ride an elephant and become a mahout for the day (A mahout is a person who rides an elephant). We got to feed, bathe and look after our own elephant for the day and it was just such a magical experience. They really are incredible and gentle creatures.”

All Elephant Parade replicas are carefully handcrafted in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Due to its handcrafted nature each piece is unique and might vary slightly in design.

Elephant parade events

Elephant Parade is a social enterprise and runs the world’s largest art exhibition of decorated elephant statues. Created by artists and celebrities. Thus Each Elephant Parade statue is a unique art piece. International cities always exhibit the life-size elephants and raise awareness for the need of elephant conservation.

History

2006 was the first elephant parade event by Marc Spits and his son Mike. The inspiration came from Marc Spits’ visit (while logging in Myanmar) to the elephant hospital in Thailand, which constructs prosthetic legs for elephants that encounter landmines. There he saw Mosha, a baby elephant who lost her foot when only seven months old. Thus the idea of the event came to existence.

Did you know?

Elephant Parade is the second largest public art event in the world. Since 2007 there have been events worldwide in 30 cities. More than 3,000 artists have produced more than 2000 unique works of art.

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