Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal 2013 - part 5
In 2013, the Montreal International Mosaïcultures exhibition was at the Montreal Botanical Garden. The theme was Earth of Hope. With 48 spectacular works from 18 countries, the Botanical Garden was transformed into a wonderland from June 22 to September 29. The exhibition has been extended to October 6 for people to see the works awarded by the jury and by the public.
On June 9, 2013, I was fortunate enough to have a day pass; I was able to visit and photograph the mosaicultures as they were being assembled. Here are my best photos taken before, during, and after this sensational exhibition. The works are numbered from 1 to 48, as in the order of the plan in 2013.
I made eight projects of six works to show you all the horticultural and environmental creations of this exhibition. A ninth project will soon follow with the 25 award-winning works.
Here is a short video that quickly shows the assembly of some works.
In this project, you will see mosaics from : France, Malaysia, Uganda, Republic of Guinea, World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF) & Canada.
25. France – Comesse's Butterfly
The first-ever figurative mosaiculture piece is credited to one Mr. Comesse, a gardener from Passy, who presented it at the Paris World Fair in 1878. A butterfly comprised of 3,000 plants, the work was installed before the Trocadéro, where it delighted the exhibition's thousand of visitors. It was awarded a silver medal. Comesse's Butterfly has been reproduced for MIM2013 from Mr. Comesse's original drawing, which resemble a paint-by-numbers canvas wherein each plant used is assigned a number. His drawing had appeared in 1878 in the publication La Revue horticole.
Many of the plants used in the original work are no longer available on the market today. The MIM team substituted them with plants possessing similar characteristics.
26. Malaysia – Man of the Forest!
Borneo has about 44 species of mammals, 37 species of birds and 19 species of fish endemic to the island, and therefore not found elsewhere on Earth. All this, without counting the thousands of species that it shares with other islands in the region.
Orangutans are an integral part of this biodiversity. There are two species: one specific to Borneo and another specific to Sumatra. Their name comes from Malay and means "man of the forest."
Unfortunately, the survival of orangutans in the wild is greatly threatened.
I read in a 2018 article: "The researchers calculated a population decrease of about 148,500 during that 16-year period and projected another drop of 45,000 by 2050, painting a bleak picture for the future of these shaggy reddish tree dwellers that are among the world’s most imperiled great apes.
Deforestation was only part of the danger. Around 70% of the loss in Borneo‘s populations may have resulted from orangutan killings by people in forested areas, the researchers said."
27. Africa – Uganda – Threatened Giants!
The horticultural works of the gorillas, as you can see, were really wonderful. And just the title: Threatened Giants summed up the meaning of the works!
I had forgotten to photograph the information about this work, so I went to the IUCN red list. I learned that there are 1063 mountain gorillas left in the world and that Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (in southwestern Uganda) is home to 43% of the world's remaining 1063 free-ranging mountain gorillas. That's not much!
The world's population is increasing and the population of animal species is decreasing, it's hopeless!
"If COVID-19 were to infect the park’s gorilla population, it could have a devastating impact. CTPH will ensure the protection of Endangered Mountain Gorilla by conducting thorough and frequent COVID-19 tests on both humans and gorillas, and by training staff on COVID-19 prevention and gorilla health monitoring. The project will also help the local community generate alternative sources of income by training farmers on how to grow and sell organic coffee. The income generated from the sales will reduce their dependence on gorilla habitat to meet basic needs for food and wood, limiting human-gorilla contact as much as possible."
In the world, more than 38,500 species are threatened with extinction. That is still 28% of all assessed species.
28. Republic of Guinea – Almost Family!
Throughout Africa, chimpanzee populations are declining. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were approximately 2 million individuals.
Now estimated at most 300,000 remain in the wild.
What are chimpanzees?
There are four subpopulations of the chimpanzee — the western chimp, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimp, the central chimp, and the eastern chimp. This great ape is one of our closest relatives, sharing about 98 percent of their genes with us. They have thickset bodies with short legs, opposable thumbs, no tails, and long arms that are 1.5 times their height that extends beyond their knees. Much of their body is covered with long black hair, but the face, ears, fingers, and toes are bare.
There are four subpopulations of the chimpanzee — the western chimp, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimp, the central chimp, and the eastern chimp. This great ape is one of our closest relatives, sharing about 98 percent of their genes with us. They have thickset bodies with short legs, opposable thumbs, no tails, and long arms that are 1.5 times their height that extends beyond their knees. Much of their body is covered with long black hair, but the face, ears, fingers, and toes are bare.
29. World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF) - Ambassadeurs de l’Espoir
The latest census in 2014 found that there were 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild.
While still very low, this represents a real success story, with numbers increasing from around 1,000 in the late 1970s.
In the past decade, giant panda numbers have risen by 17 percent.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an independent conservation organization active in nearly 100 countries. Since its founding in 1961, WWF has become the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organisation. It is supported by 5 million people and 30 million followers on social media.
Their mission:
To stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature by:
- conserving the world’s biological diversity
- ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
- promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
- ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
- promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
30. Canada – Sherbrooke - Frog Tunnel
Un petit pont pour l’Homme, un grand pas pour la biodiversité!
Through his cohabitation with the natural environment, Man must, through his actions, allow an interrelation between the nature that surrounds him and himself, in order to preserve the fragile importance of the biodiversity of his environment and to promote harmony between the various ecosystems.
The idea of building crossings for frogs began one evening in 1997 when a biologist sees hundreds of crushed frogs on the road. He set out to build frog crossings, as they exist in Europe and the United States. And in October 2000, three tunnels were built under Route 220 to allow amphibians to cross safely.
Data compiled by the Brompton Lake Conservation Association confirms that amphibians use the tunnels effectively, each at their own pace.
Route 220 is located in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. It divides the Brompton Lake marsh and is in the heart of the amphibian migration corridor.
These tunnels were the first of their kind in Canada. They have helped protect the amphibian population and, in turn, the entire marsh ecosystem, which is rich in reptilian diversity.
In the summer of 2022, for the first time, the Montreal International Mosaicultures exhibition will be in Quebec City, at Bois-de-Coulonge Park.
Mosaicultures - Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal
Mosaicultures - Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal
