CONCEPT: Transposition

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” Anatole France

Starting my artistic career in 2012, my works comprehend diverse conceptual based drawings, paintings and installations. Since in my childhood I grew up in a remote place where I have witnessed people abandoning their pets. These animals are left in agony, without food and shelter until they die. With the help of my parents and friends, I have been engaging myself in animal rescue for a long. Although my art has been a space for me to explore a plethora of themes, recently I have decided to dedicate my art-making towards sensitising the Mauritian population about animal protection.

The situation of rampant stray dogs all over the island is alarming. In fact, the condition of animal welfare in Mauritius is marked by a steady increase in animal abandonment, brutality, and the prevalent practice of illicit breeding. Many dogs are captured and killed for no cause, or sheltered in deplorable conditions by MSAW, which is not at all a good image for the entire country's tourism.

To address the problem of stray dog overpopulation, Mauritians need to generate a sense of responsibility towards their pets and to all the animals in general. The main goal of this project work is to demonstrate to people how in the fast-growing world we often forget that we are merely sharing a single planet with other creatures that we need to respect and cherish. In fact, we are creatures, just like them, belonging to a common ecosystem, but sadly repressed by our ego. The project is an opportunity for me to express my feelings visually. Through this art activism, I wish to make a difference in the lives of my ‘fellow fur’ friends in my country. There is still hope in humanity, especially through the collaboration of the government and the Mauritians, we can transform this reality.

The journey of undertaking the module Subject Didactics 3 can be described as a nurturing process whereby I have been offered the opportunity to collaborate with my group mates by providing advice, sharing of ideas and giving feedback on each other’s tasks that were allocated (Local artists, Innovative lesson planning, and Project work). The process helped me to establish clearer links between the aims and objectives of my lessons at school and that of the Art and Design curriculum (National Curriculum Framework, 2016, page 106). During this period, I also learnt about the importance of innovative practices by implementing Information, Communication and Technology in my teaching as well as recycling and upcycling scrap materials. As such, it can be said that I have become more resourceful in terms of teaching and learning to help students in being creative with a range of materials, techniques, media, styles and context. As per the National Curriculum Framework (NCF, pg.23), teachers are required to be resourceful to be able to cater for different learning abilities. In this regard, the module has helped me for continuous professional development towards a 21-st century educator in a dynamic educational landscape.

In this period of difficult time due to the pandemic hitting hard on the educational sector, it can also be articulated that the cost of materials and equipment for Art and Design has risen. Educators ought to be cautious about this factor as whether students can be discouraged to opt for the subject since it is going to be an expensive one for them. The idea of parents thinking of it as a ‘demanding subject’ in terms of time and financial investment can amplify. This module has broadened my horizon on how to curb this issue by engaging in sustainable art-making

through eco-friendly approaches. This also promotes life-long learning opportunities for the learners. In this instance, one of the goals of the National Curriculum Framework (2016) is to inspire learners to develop an appreciation for their environment and adopt sustainable actions in their life. Hence, I have learnt the importance of inculcating a culture of sustainable living into my learners.

Likewise, this module has also exposed me to a variety of local, regional and international artists which can be shared with my learners. Responding to artworks help students to foster understanding, appreciation of and respect for history, culture and values. Therefore, students develop an attitude of ‘critical looking’, building core skills in analysing how visual and physical qualities of images, paintings, sculptures, installations and architectures can be used to communicate ideas, feelings and emotions. It can be said that the ‘making of’ and ‘responding to’ artworks are complimentary. Students learn by reflecting on the process of their art-making and critically reflecting on others' artworks. Besides, discussions with group mates and presentations during classes made me ponder on the relationship between the artist, his or her intended audience and the artwork. Interpretations of artworks are profoundly linked to one personal life experience. Similarly, students can be made to critically observe how the audience consume, debate and interpret the meanings of artworks in distinct ways.

Subject didactics 3 has been a transformative adventure. The experience of the module on my career as an educator will be far-reaching. It made me realise a lot about my strengths and weaknesses on which I have to work hard to improve myself. Parallelly, improving myself would mean providing a better learning environment to my students. It also goes without mentioning the community of practice that my group mates and I have concocted. Lastly, everything that I have learnt in terms of knowledge, awareness, discoveries and good practices, I have now started to share it with colleagues at school for a better way forward in our endeavours.