Artist Statement:
This is my most recently completed work. It’s rather self-explanatory. This piece came about in response to one of the comments vegans consistently hear, which is ‘Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.’ A work colleague said this to me when we were having lunch one day, so I guess her willful disconnection was in part the motivation for the series.
The dimensions are 6 foot in height for additional visual impact.
As with all my artwork, the concept started with a detailed preliminary graphite drawing. It serves as a guide or reference for the final painting, so I know where I’m taking it. There are three different sketches in this ‘fork’ series which are on my site.
Joe Frederiks
Jo Frederiks is a passionate animal rights advocate, speaking through her art to create powerful social statements. She is an award-winning, full-time practicing artist, currently working towards her next exhibition exposing the well-hidden plight of helpless victims we belittle as ‘livestock.’ Frederiks draws on her experiences growing up on her fathers million acre cattle station in central Queensland, Australia.
Working in varying mediums, Frederiks favors graphite and oil paint. She previously studied at The Arts Academy in Brisbane, graduating with Honours.
She has had many solo, joint and group exhibitions throughout the years. Her work has been displayed in the USA, the UK, Ukraine, Italy, Russia, Germany, Israel, and Australia. And her images are now popular as placards in animal rights protests across the globe.
Frederiks is most known for the ground-breaking ‘Animal Holocaust‘ exhibition – a vast body of work comprising 50 major paintings and approx 150 works on paper; a project which she continues to develop and expand.
In 2013 she featured in the popular TV series Colour In Your Life, which brought animal rights art to mainstream media and aired in many countries around the world.
Although Frederiks’s art is controversial, the works are sensitive, exquisite and beautifully detailed, highlighting the emotional depth of each individual, or on the other hand – to depict their untold tragic story.