Shujaa wa amani
Artist: BRIANNA KIRBY
2021
Medium: Mixed
Size:
2021
Medium: Mixed
Size:
Artist Statement:
The name of my creature is Shujaa wa amani meaning peaceful warrior. My creator is a peaceful warrior that protects the native people of Tanzania which is where it is found. The Shujaa wa amani lives in the forestay environment that has sandy grounds and rivers. The Shujaa wa amani is a herbivore that eats nuts, Uapaca kirkiana, parinaric curatelifolia, strychnos cocculoides, and tamarindus which are native fruits. The Shujaa has thick sandy scales running along its underbody. Its sharp claws also have a sandy texture to make it easier to grip to slippery surfaces and catch prey. The rest of the Shujaa’s body is covered in small leaf like scales to blend in with its surroundings. It also has a sharp beak to break then eat the hard fruit and nuts. Shujaa has a snake like body and two lizard-like arms to grasp and swim. The snake like body allows the Shujaa to glide through water and the arms/claws allow it to grip to surfaces. Its eyes are two different colours, one blue and the other yellow. This represents that it can both be land and water animal.
At first most of my ideas were related to spiders, spikey caterpillars, insects, leachers and I wanted to have a dessert animal. But I wasn’t satisfied with my ideas, so I moved on to lizards, snakes, birds, pangolins, tadpoles, and monitors. In the end my creature looked very different from what my first ideas were. It has a cobra head with a parrot beak, it also has two front monitor legs, and the rest of its body is like a snake. The meaning behind the creature is peace because in Tanzania there is a lot of deforestation. My work is to represent a creature that would protect and keep the peace between plant life, animals and humans. In the end I think my creature turned out better than I anticipated.
The name of my creature is Shujaa wa amani meaning peaceful warrior. My creator is a peaceful warrior that protects the native people of Tanzania which is where it is found. The Shujaa wa amani lives in the forestay environment that has sandy grounds and rivers. The Shujaa wa amani is a herbivore that eats nuts, Uapaca kirkiana, parinaric curatelifolia, strychnos cocculoides, and tamarindus which are native fruits. The Shujaa has thick sandy scales running along its underbody. Its sharp claws also have a sandy texture to make it easier to grip to slippery surfaces and catch prey. The rest of the Shujaa’s body is covered in small leaf like scales to blend in with its surroundings. It also has a sharp beak to break then eat the hard fruit and nuts. Shujaa has a snake like body and two lizard-like arms to grasp and swim. The snake like body allows the Shujaa to glide through water and the arms/claws allow it to grip to surfaces. Its eyes are two different colours, one blue and the other yellow. This represents that it can both be land and water animal.
At first most of my ideas were related to spiders, spikey caterpillars, insects, leachers and I wanted to have a dessert animal. But I wasn’t satisfied with my ideas, so I moved on to lizards, snakes, birds, pangolins, tadpoles, and monitors. In the end my creature looked very different from what my first ideas were. It has a cobra head with a parrot beak, it also has two front monitor legs, and the rest of its body is like a snake. The meaning behind the creature is peace because in Tanzania there is a lot of deforestation. My work is to represent a creature that would protect and keep the peace between plant life, animals and humans. In the end I think my creature turned out better than I anticipated.
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