PRESERVING THE CYCLE OF NATURE; CAPTURING NATURE’S FLORA AND FAUNA; WITH GUEST, LIM HUI-LIN Malaysia and UK
Smitten By Faith issue # 0017 27th November 2021 Reflections on Climate Change Series
Today, in the last of our ‘Reflections on Climate Change’ November series, the reflections end positively with very apt allegorical illustrations of flora and fauna so that we not lose touch with the precious gifts of nature around us. I asked my very talented and artistic newly minted graduate millennial biologist, LIM HUI-LIN to share with our readers her whimsical drawings and paintings of nature. You can see how nature comes alive for this free-spirited young lady. For Hui-Lin, a plant, a flower, a mammal, reptile, fish or even us humans – we all live and breathe with our unique internal energy or what the Chinese refer to as ‘qi’; an inner force – the essence of our creation. You will be blown away by the beautiful illustrations and drawings in Hui-Lin’s own personal free-style; they are not meant to be scientific or naturalistic renditions of nature at all – but instead, they show how alive our planet is for her. They are her fresh artistic endeavors and interpretations as she captures the beauty of the flora and fauna she loves; so that we do not lose touch with nature.
During Cop 26, we have all heard unequivocally from our youth – they cry out for the leaders of the world to do something immediately about climate change which will adversely and irreparably affect nature. So, let’s pause here – just awhile – away from the noise - and simply enjoy our fascinating natural world with Hui-Lin’s paintings and drawings and celebrate the wonder of nature. Perhaps then, we can also discover the trace of the divine power who created our beautiful universe; we can have faith and not lose hope.
Left : Hui-Lin on the right with her twin sister Hui-Wen amongst the beautiful bamboo groves of Moganshan near Shanghai
Right : Hui Lin busy drawing
Lim Hui-Lin graduated this year with a Bsc. (2:1) in Biology from the University of Bristol. Hui-Lin and Hui-Wen, her twin sister are Malaysians who spent their high school years at boarding school in Shanghai, at the well-known YK Pao International School, an enlightened decision of their parents to inculcate in them the importance of Chinese philosophy. In Hui-Lin’s case, she truly imbibed the importance of the Chinese philosophical concept of harmony with nature. A keen observer of the wonders of nature, ever since she was very young, Hui-Lin has been drawing flora and fauna constantly with amazing skill and sensitivity as you can see below. In fact, she participated in a fund-raising art exhibition at the age of just 13 years and sold her first painting then. While she was studying at the University of Bristol, she spent most of her summer internships back home in Malaysia where among many organizations, she worked for was the Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Foundation. There, Hui-Lin assisted in research and mapping the central forests and also assisted in the making of a video on the need to protect our forests and those that live in them.
Just as in the case of photographs, drawings tell a thousand words. In Lim Hui-Lin’s case, her poignant illustrations of our flora and fauna certainly need no words. So, let’s go over to LIM HUI-LIN.
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PRESERVING THE CYCLE OF NATURE; CAPTURING NATURE’S FLORA AND FAUNA
LIM HUI-LIN London & Kuala Lumpur 27th November, 2021
From a young age, I always loved drawing and I would try to capture the wonder of nature around me in my drawings. For me and my twin sister, Hui-Wen, nature is not only beautiful but something that we cannot live without and with climate change, our environment is at risk. Climate change touches everything and there is nothing that could escape its grasp. In daily life, the impact of climate change is felt and having lived in the United Kingdom for the past 3 years, I experience the weather patterns changing from year to year with prolonged periods of warmth and sudden onsets of cold weather. We humans feel all of these changes and adapt to them - but one can only imagine how animals and plants will cope!
There is satisfaction and beauty in the cyclical cycle of nature. The Sun provides energy for plants to grow, which provides nutrition to the animals that consume it. Maybe these animals will be eaten by other animals. However, once they reach the end of their lives, their bodies decompose and are brought back to the earth by fungus and insects. The cycle of life is beautiful, but it also means that if one part of the chain is impacted the rest follows. In the ocean, global warming not only leads to an increase in oceanic temperature but an increase in ocean acidification. For certain fishes, the dual effect of global warming leads to a decrease in birth rates impacting the fish food web, which has already been greatly affected by overfishing. Not only are animals impacted but plants as well. With certain sensitive plant species having limited optimal growth temperatures, we could risk losing them and the animals which thrive off them.
These are some examples demonstrating the impact of climate change. I believe that the recent COP26 conference gives hope to solving this climate crisis and preservation of nature's beauty, but for it to work the countries taking part must adhere to their promises and work to do more because the ones being affected is not only the nature around us but future generations as well.
In the two drawings above of ‘BW Sea’, while I was doing them, I was just learning how to dive and was fascinated with the many different sea creatures shown in the diving catalogues.
(The sketchbook I used was 11x7cm! It is the smallest art book I own.)
My obsession with TURTLES came after volunteering one summer at ‘Lang Tengah Turtle Watch’ on the beautiful East coast of Malaysia, where I had the opportunity to watch the protected turtle eggs hatch! I was filled with wonder and amazement !
The drawings of the FIG above is part of a group of scientific drawings of fig plants which I did for my internship mentor when I was interning one summer at the University of Science, Malaysia. Looking back I am very proud of this piece!
Staghorn Ferns
During a vacation back home in Malaysia, I went with my family to the beautiful island of Langkawi and we stayed at an amazing eco resort called ‘ the Datai’, a luxurious resort surrounded by hectares of natural forests and plants. Nature preserved and protected. I wandered around in the forest and admired the trees and plants surrounding the resort. Of course, drawing pad in hand, I worked on multiple studies capturing the beauty of the staghorn ferns in particular. I loved how ferns are shaped like enlarged snails.
For this drawing of trees, I was studying the way leaves are placed on the tree and found beauty in the way the light hits it.
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