Buy a Jamie Hewlett print for Oxfam and get inspired to go to the Wave!

south west | the environment | press release Friday October 30, 2009 11:49 by Oxfam South West

Jamie Hewlett limited edition prints for sale

Dhaka, Bangladesh - Jamie Hewlett watercolour

Art fans in Bristol have the chance to buy limited edition prints by one of the UK’s most innovative artists, Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz, Tank Girl, Monkey: Journey to the West). In doing so they will help people who are suffering the effects of climate change in poor countries.

Jamie Hewlett accompanied international aid agency Oxfam to Char Atra in Bangladesh to see the human cost of climate change for himself earlier this year. The trip inspired him to paint nine huge watercolours, currently on display at the London art exhibition Under Water Colours.

The exhibition is being shown just weeks before the international climate talks take place in Copenhagen and before The Wave march in London on December 5th. Thousands of people from the South West are expected to join the biggest ever march on climate change to call on UK government to push for a fair deal in the Danish capital.

Oxfam in Bristol is currently looking for a venue to show the exhibition just before hundreds of people go to The Wave. Buses and trains for The Wave are scheduled to leave from strategic points all over the South West. A two-day ‘Blue Wave’ of cyclists will also leave from Bristol and Swindon.

Rosanne White, who volunteers for Oxfam in Bristol and comes from Frome in Somerset, is going to The Wave. She said, “I’m really excited about going to London to show my support and so are all my friends! There’s a lot of interest already from people in this area who are planning to go, so this really is going to be a huge public demonstration on climate change.”

Jamie’s paintings, although striking in their own right, are a reminder of how vital it is that world leaders reach a fair and safe climate deal. He said: “Char Atra is such an idyllic place and it’s horrific to think of it being simply washed away, devastating the community. I wanted my paintings to be optimistic as well as realistic and I wanted to show what a beautiful place it is. I hope by concentrating on the people and their every day lives that I have given people here in Britain something they can relate to.”

Six of the watercolours are available as limited edition prints, with proceeds going to Oxfam’s work to help people in the region protect themselves from the effects of climate change.