Artist Behind The Art: His Illustrations Of Animals Are Positively Wild
Armed with only a black marker pen, Tay Jun-Yi’s illustrations of the animal world are full of whimsy and character.
Have a look at the cheeky expressions of the creatures (most are wild, some are domestic) in these works by Jun-Yi.
The artist, who is 27 this year, loves to draw animals engaging in social interactions – something that he wants to experience but is challenging for him because he has autism. And thanks to social enterprise The Animal Project (more info below), he is able to express himself through art.
To celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Tiger this year, Jun-Yi's illustration was featured on dining placemats - the perfect accompaniment to a roar-some reunion dinner.
To raise awareness of marine life, he drew a throng of sea creatures in a piece that was featured on a sea-cation-worthy pouch, which, aiyah, is sold out.
Meanwhile, you can catch Jun-Yi in action as he will be conducting two "live" doodle mural drawing sessions at the Amazon Flooded Forest in River Wonders on 18 Nov 2022 - one from 11am to 12pm, and the other from 1pm to 2pm.
His new work will feature all the black-and-white animals at the park, to celebrate “Festive Wild-erland”, Mandai Wildlife Group’s first three-park campaign to celebrate the monochrome fauna of Singapore Zoo, River Wonders and Night Safari.
The year-end festivities kick off on 17 Nov 2022 and run till 2 Jan 2023. Highlights include a Black and White AR Animal Trail on which you will discover the lives of these critters from the POV of the keepers.
See African Penguins up close during the Penguin Parade, and, for the kids, there'll be a Panda-Monium Playground to climb, play, and roll just like Le Le.
Get your tickets to "Festive Wild-erland" here.
What is The Animal Project?
The Animal Project is a social enterprise that celebrates the abilities of artists with special needs, and turns the amazing artwork done by their artists into cool lifestyle products, with the artists earning royalties from each sale. Half of The Animal Project's nett profits are channelled towards initiatives supporting inclusion and celebrating the abilities of the special needs community.
Jun-Yi is one of the five artists from The Animal Project, all of whom are from Pathlight School’s Artist Development Programme (ADP), which was launched in April 2011. According to Pathlight, "under ADP, professional artists are engaged to work with talented students to nurture their talents", and those whose works are sold get a royalty payment from Pathlight.
Black and white might be Jun-Yi’s forte, but his art is also amazing in colour. His works are featured on everything from diaries and picnic mats to mugs, T-shirts and tote bags.
Click the image above to browse products featuring his illustrations.
For the latest updates on Wonderwall.sg, be sure to follow us on TikTok, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook. If you have a story idea for us, email us at [email protected].
