Twyla Francois

Artist: Twyla Francois
Title: Handle With Care
Medium: Painting- Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 18" X 24"
Date: 2015

About the Artist: "Originally from a small, rural community, Twyla connected with farmed animals from an early age. She has dedicated her life to advocating for them and has worked as the Canadian Head of Investigations for the international animal organization Animals' Angels, the Canadian-based organizations Canadians for Ethical Treatment of Food Animals and the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition, and most recently as Director of Investigations for Mercy For Animals Canada where she oversaw the completion and release of seven ground-breaking undercover investigations. Her work as a farmed animal cruelty investigator has been the focus of numerous documentaries, including No Country for Animals, Bêtes à bord, No Country for Horses, Food for Thought, Cruel Business, Behind the Barn Door, and These Little Piggies. Investigations conducted or overseen by Twyla have led to the closure of facilities, animal cruelty charges and convictions, corporate animal welfare policy reforms, government-commissioned research, rescues of abused and neglected farmed animals, and opening the hearts and minds of millions to the power of their food choices to create a kinder world." (twylafrancois.com)

Artist Statement on work: Last year in Canada nearly 300,000 veal calves were killed. Ripped away from their mothers' sides shortly after birth, they spent their short, miserable lives confined to a tiny wooden box so small they couldn't walk or even turn around. This painting depicts our macabre concern with animals only after they've been processed into something we view as useful and how we take pains to ensure the safety of it, while disregarding even basic welfare for those same animals while alive.

About the Work, etc.: Twyla, an investigator against animal cruelty acts, felt that although she had reached many through her work, documentary films, and photography, she needed to find a way to reach more masses and spread the word to stop animal abuse, and thus began creating paintings depicting the horrific scenes she saw in her day to day life. She feels the paintings are gentler, and will therefore appeal to more people, yet still be just as compelling. In this piece, she reveals what could be this cow's fate by painting on the side of the small crate: contains leather sofa. It offers a shocking blow, and makes what already seems like a bad situation even more unbearable. Though some of her work offers a glimpse at the horrible lives some animals endure, she comes back with just as many works about the polar opposite- happy animals in safe environments- showing what could be the lives of these animals if only society would change.