Let’s be part of it.

Located in the hustling and bustling streets of Shoreditch, our talented artists have created a larger than life size portrait of a wild tiger to celebrate Global Tiger Day. Find us on Chance Street and tag your best shot on Instagram @graffiti_life and #iprotecttigers

Before we get stuck in and ask our artist’s all about their time painting this beautiful animal here’s some information about just how endangered wild tigers are right now…

“We’ve lost 95% of wild tigers since the beginning of the 20th century and there are only around 3,900 remaining in the wild. They’ve been killed and their habitats destroyed. WWF is working to end illegal trade in tigers and their parts, and helping local communities protect their habitats. Now for the first time in conservation history, their numbers have finally started to rise. You can be part of it.”

I interviewed David and Sophie who were both part of the painting process.

So what inspired you to paint this piece, how did it come about?

“Me and Sophie had been talking for a while about how much we love wildlife photography and we really wanted to create something on a giant scale, however we weren’t really sure what animal to choose to paint. We thought that with Global Tiger Day coming up that a tiger would be perfect. The impact a tiger has at such a large scale, with its giant teeth is so much greater than something like a squirrel or a raccoon might have!” – David

How has the public reacted to such a striking piece?

“I think in terms of public feedback it’s been one of the most well received walls we’ve ever painted. We’ve had so much social media attention from it in terms of people taking photographs with our tiger and tagging them on Instagram. People seem to be responding really well to to it, especially as we were painting. A lot of people stopped to ask us questions about what we were doing.” – Sophie

Was it a challenging piece to paint and why?

“It was challenging because it was really hot, the temperature on the days we were painting in London must have been in the high 20’s and early 30’s maybe, it was super super hot. We had to keep going back to the shop to buy loads of bottles of water as we were so dehydrated. The sun was beating down exactly where we were painting. It’s always challenging painting on a large scale, especially trying to find the perfect colours. Everyone thinks a tiger is orange however we used mostly sandy tones and yellows blended together.” – David

Did you complete the piece in one day?

“We aimed to get it done in two days but it actually took three days to complete. I think it took that little bit longer because so many people were stopping us to ask questions about the piece, every two minutes we were talking to someone different!” -David

Has it made you more aware of tiger endangerment?

“Yes absolutely, I’ve been reading up on it a lot recently and had no idea they were as endangered as they are! There’s only just under 4000 of them at the moment and they will become extinct if we as humans don’t start making a move to help keep them alive.” – Sophie

What was the best part of painting it?

“The best part for me was the final photos and getting to see exactly what you’ve created afterwards. It’s great painting big and it’s so rewarding. You know there’s not many people in the world that can do that so it’s quite a good feeling.” – David

Are you a fan of what WWF do as a company?

“I think with there being so much going on at home with Brexit and politics and all of this madness and Trump and rallies in the street, it’s easy to forget about animals and people kind of say that they’re less important. However living on a planet without these beautiful creatures would not be a happy place to live. It is important and if we can help raise awareness to that fact by painting something giant that people can’t ignore, we’re on to making a change. ” – Sophie