Pardis Ghasemi is an artist based in Huddersfield, UK. Her main focus is on painting and fine art. As a member of RAA, she likes to get inspiration from nature and from people who are aware of their surroundings and their interactions with the environment.
Describing her first encounter with Rainforest Appreciation Artists and her first impressions of the ‘Save the Rainforest’ exhibition, Pardis says:
“For a moment I was surprised that, after a long lockdown, I could finally see paintings and artwork in person. I stood by and started talking to [Patrycja and Judy] and I was thrilled by the friendly atmosphere and also the reason behind RAA.”
The artists exchanged contact details and, soon afterwards, Pardis became a member of the team.
Since becoming involved with RAA, Pardis says she has learned a lot about different rainforest habitats and products; about our consumption of them; and about the effect of this consumption on the environment. Pardis describes this as “a juxtaposition of all information about nature and urban life” and she reflects:
“I suffer from being an extreme materialist. For a couple of years I did not know how to solve this problem. One solution to this problem is to consume products that have logos which represent eco, environment and rainforest friendly. This makes it easier to choose what to buy and means that you are consuming products which cause much less harm to our surroundings.”
Some may feel there is little they can do to protect regions in Colombia, Africa or Australia, and Pardis says:
“That might occur to every mind. However, the complex life of an urbanist is totally related to those living in rainforest. To find out what we really are consuming is a huge step towards protecting the lives of others – lives that, in some way, are undoubtedly essential for our own existence.”