South African artist Sonny returns to New York City this month, exhibiting his first body of large-scale canvas works, as well as a series of hand painted sculptures. The exhibition, entitled “To The Bone,” will open May 17th at 393 Broadway, two blocks below Canal Street, and will remain until May 19th. RSVP is required to assure entry.
About the Exhibition
Sonny is known for his passion for the protection and conservation of endangered wildlife, portraying those animals with “unsure futures,” up close, and “stripped to the bone.” While he is best known for his large-scale spray-painted murals, he has recently refined his studio skills to present a body of large-scale canvas pieces. “To the Bone” tells a story of nature, withering away under the pressures of civilization and expansionism. It highlights the delicate balance that exists between mankind and the animal kingdom. Each piece depicts a portrait of an endangered animal, for example, a rhino, a gorilla, an elephant, etc., with half it’s face stripped of flesh, revealing a portion of the skull that the artist has meticulously embellished with patterns of tribes native to that species. The skulls, half stripped of skin, are symbolic of how these creatures are quickly fading away.
The exhibition marks the end of a worldwide mural painting tour that saw murals in a number of cities worldwide including but not limited to Canada, The Netherlands, Russia, USA and South Africa.
10% of each artwork sale will be donated to Project C.A.T., a collaboration between Discovery Communications and World Wildlife Fund that aims to ensure a healthy habitat for future generations of tigers by helping conserve nearly two million acres of protected land in India and Bhutan.
About the Artist
Sonny is a self-taught, British-born street artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work focuses on nature and animals, combining realism with a sense of fantasy. His work focuses on endangered animals in particular, highlighting how much of nature we have lost and have yet to lose, due to our inevitable expansionism.
Along with a preview of his studio work that will be showing in the exhibition, we’ve included five of his most remarkable murals that shows the extraordinary talent this South African artist has.
New York Lion (2017)
Lower East Side, Manhattan
About The Mural
With a true passion for wildlife, Sonny believes that the well-being of animals is intricately tied to our own ability to thrive. That’s why he’s spent the past year creating a new body of artwork to highlight the extinction crisis we’re currently facing. For this mural Sonny chose to paint a Lion, which is a symbol of strength and power, yet classed as a vulnerable species. Lions once roamed most of the globe, but have rapidly decreased in numbers. And still today they are hunted for sport.
Kicking Up Dust (2017)
Cambridge, Canada – Curated by Cambridge International Street Art Festival
About The Mural
The second installment of the South African Street Artist Sonny’s global mural tour, To The Bone was painted as part of the Cambridge International Street Art Festival in Canada and aims to raise awareness of the brutal trophy hunting of grizzly bears, which may threaten their long-term survival. Through Sonny’s mural he hopes to drive home the message that grizzly bears are worth far more alive than dead. They are essential to British Columbia’s rain forest ecosystem, distributing fertilizer through the forests. Not to mention that eco-tourism is far more lucrative than trophy hunting.
Amur Leopard (2017)
Vladivostok, Russia – Curated by IFAW Russia
About The Mural
The 4th leg of the tour saw Sonny paining a huge mural of a Far Eastern Leopard, one of the world’s most endangered big cats, in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. The mural aims to raise awareness for the Amur leopard of which there are only 80 left in the wild, and was supported by IFAW Russia and the Russian NGO, Far Eastern Leopards. The mural is 250m² in size and is made up of over 200 different shades of color, and sits high up on a hill looking down over the city of Vladivostok.
While Sonny was in Russia he was also able to visit the Land of the Leopards’ to see the good work that is being done to protect these rare but beautiful animals.
Electric Fury (2017)
Waterford, Ireland – Curated by Waterford Walls
About The Mural
Sonny’s roaring tiger is named ‘Electric Fury’ and was painted as part of the 3rd edition of Waterford Walls, a street art festival in Waterford, Ireland. The second tiger of the tour, this one brings some color into the community with bright splashes of pinks and purples.
Sonny will be putting a portion of his artwork sales towards supporting Project C.A.T., a collaboration between Discovery Communications and World Wildlife Fund that aims to ensure a healthy habitat for future generations of tigers by helping conserve nearly two million acres of protected land in India and Bhutan. With multiple threats, such as poaching, habitat loss, conflict with humans and overhunting of their prey species, there are less than 4000 tigers left in the wild.
Nanuk (2017)
Wynwood, Miami – Curated by Basel House Festival.
About The Mural
In the past year Sonny’s traveled the globe for his latest wildlife protection campaign “To The Bone” which aims to raise funds and awareness for endangered wildlife. His latest mural “Nanuk”, an inuit name that means ‘animal worthy of respect’ honors polar bears; powerful predators currently facing extinction from man-made global warming.
Often illustrating animals in their natural habitat with their faces slightly removed to reveal the raw skeletons underneath, it symbolizes just how quickly these creatures are fading away. He also depicts them with native patterns from their home country to convey how important they are to the culture, heritage and people of that place. Here, he’s added layers of sea ice, which is essentially their platform of life. Another interesting aspect of this mural is that the endangered polar bear remains under the beating sun in Miami. As marine mammals that dwell on the Arctic sea ice, it’s a clever way to use placement and imagery to emphasize the future of this species.
Sonny: website | facebook | instagram
To The Bone
Exhibition Opening Party
17 May, 7pm | 393 Broadway, NY
RSVP: https://
