The Real Elephant Collective is a socio-environmental enterprise merging Art & Conservation, raising funds and awareness around the concept of Coexistence.

 

Coexistence is the sharing of the globe such that nature is not saved in small pockets with the destruction of the rest. Or that some people who live alongside forests bear the sole responsibility for living well with Nature. We are Nature.

 

All beings are sentient. We speak of the thousands of Asian elephants that share space with people in the most densely populated part of the earth. It's a daily negotiation that unfolds across India on a daily basis. Individual elephants as thinking sentient beings, learn and negotiate the shared space, while humans also co-adapt. It means that while life isn't always easy, and resources need to be shared, we are willing to let the other live. 

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The Real Elephant Collective together with Coexistence Story USA and Elephant Family UK take herds of 100s of life-size elephants to green spaces across the world. Inviting a felt perspective on sharing space with large wild animals or even little ones. The elephants are each based on a real wild elephant, highlighting their individual natures much like humans, with each telling stories of Coexistence from their complex landscapes. They urge people to consider the possibility of living well with Nature wherever they are. 

 

The Elephants are constructed from an invasive weed called Lantana camara and crafted by a team of a 150 indigenous artisans from across South India, many of whom experience this daily negotiation with Nature first-hand.

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The Elephants are auctioned, with all proceeds going towards on ground conservation work that supports the Coexistence paradigm, through Fellowship Programmes with the Coexistence Consortium and other projects.

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