A Grande Sereia, The Little Mermaid inspired elephant was a part of Elephant Parade Floripa's herd back in 2015. We're so excited that this year the design has been made into a miniature version for you to take home! Thuany Kohlbach was inspired by Princess Ariel from Disney's animated hit “The Little Mermaid”⁣, she made "A Grande Sereia" by adding a fishtail to a sitting elephant statue, so it became a beautiful mermaid elephant! ⁣⁠In this interview, Thuany is generous is enough to share with us her journey on creating "A Grande Sereia"

Can you tell us about yourself and your background as an artist? 

“As a child, one of my favourite hobbies was drawing and painting. As I grew up, this desire to make art became stronger and at the time of finding a profession, I opted for design. I studied Design at the Federal University of Santa Catarina with an emphasis on illustration and ever since have been developing my skills and techniques in a self-taught way. My great opportunity to debut in the world of arts was when I participated in 2015 in the Elephant Parade Floripa (in Brazil). Since then, I continue producing pieces and participating in other initiatives that unite art, culture and preservation.” 

What was your inspiration behind A Grande Sereia?

"The city where I was born, Florianópolis, is an island full of beaches and mysticism. I have always liked worlds and mythological characters, so the idea of joining a large animal like the elephant to the mysterious figure of a mermaid seemed like an idea outside the box. After defining the theme, the parallel with the famous little mermaid emerged, and from there came the name of the work: A Grande Sereia."

Why did you choose this theme/colour palette?

“My favourite colour is blue and it perfectly matched the theme I chose. I chose to leave the elephant animal in its usual colour, grey and explored a variety of blue and green tones in the tail to resemble the mermaid. And added vibrant colours like orange and yellow to the star earrings and the metallic magenta colour along with the hair.”

Why did you decide to collaborate with Elephant Parade?

"My mother saw a report that was going to happen in Florianópolis and encouraged me to send a project. As it is an event about the preservation of elephants (which we love) and an opportunity to show my creativity and art, I decided to send a project right away. It was an incredible experience to participate and meet several artists and their inspiring projects."

Do you think art plays a role in raising awareness?

“Absolutely. I believe that art is used to raise awareness about the damage that man does to nature and to its animals has a great power to mobilise people for action. As a person and artist, I am very proud to have participated in the Elephant Parade and to be a change vector in this conservation movement.”

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