Shoppers on Shoreditch’s busy Hanbury Street were stopped in their tracks on Friday 21 November by an eye-catching mural of an animal rarely immortalised in art – a colourful patchwork turkey, complete with a festive Christmas cracker hat.
The street art mural is the brainchild of world-renowned mural artist Louis Michel and is one of a series of turkey-themed artworks appearing across the UK in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The A Turkey Isn’t Just for Christmas murals will draw attention to the plight of the approximately nine million turkeys killed each year in the UK, many of which are slaughtered simply for Christmas dinner.
While Louis’ Shoreditch artwork shone a light on the understated beauty of turkeys, Viva!’s dedicated outreach volunteers engaged with members of the public curious to find out more about the mural’s unusual subject. Educational leaflets containing facts about industrial turkey farming were handed out, with the stunning artwork on the cover appearing alongside the words “Be cool not cruel to turkeys this Christmas”.
Ben Freedman, campaigns manager at Viva!, commented: “It’s been fantastic to collaborate with Louis on this unique campaign. The reaction to this stunning mural has been incredibly positive and resulted in some thought-provoking conversations with members of the public that haven’t previously stopped to consider the paradoxical nature of their choices. What happens to millions of turkeys each Christmas is appalling – and totally at odds with the peace and goodwill the festive season is supposed to inspire in us all.”
Viva! volunteers also handed out free samples of delicious vegan turkey alternatives to demonstrate how easy and affordable it is to opt for a cruelty-free festive feast this year. Reactions demonstrated how the average consumer actually does have compassion for turkeys – they simply feel bound by tradition.
Louis Michel said: “A Turkey Isn’t Just for Christmas is a brand-new series of works highlighting turkey brutality. As part of a wider project called Meat My Friends, I’m utilising my position as an artist in the public domain to encourage dietary change. I’m famed for highlighting species extinction, but this series highlights animal cruelty. It’s always puzzled me how society is okay with the abuse of one group of animals while offended by the abuse of another.”
“Ultimately, it’s all the same. Modern society needs to understand the philosophies of speciesism. I’m particularly excited to be collaborating with Viva! on these murals so that we can combine activism with public art to challenge the festive season’s dinner choices.”
