Cherry Blossom Girl
Cherry Blossom Girl 2014 colour Biro drawing on a Chinese fan
South China Tiger Quadriptych
The South China tiger quadriptych includes Yin and Yang, Butterfly Lover, Butterfly Lover Zhu Yintai and Cherry Blossom Girl. All four artworks illustrate The Legend of the Last South China Tiger written by Jane for Save Wild Tigers (SWT) a UK conservation charity.
The quadriptych symbolises the fate of the South China tiger subspecies, which is thought to survive only in captivity, with many tigers bred in tiger farms to supply the illegal trade in fur and body parts. This body of work was also created to raise awareness of the plight of tigers and conservation organisations like SWT and Born Free that are working tirelessly to ensure all remaining tiger subspecies continue to play with butterflies.
Cherry Blossom Girl is the fourth artwork of quadriptych and illustrates the epilogue of the legend:
Epilogue
High up in the great mountains of China, in a little known village there lived a beautiful young tigress. Orphaned as a cub, her mother killed by hunters, she was found by a villager who rescued her. Loved by all she gained the protection of the villagers and flourished in their care. One day the enchanted butterfly Zhu Yingtai appeared and danced around the tigress. She began to follow Zhu Yingtai as she fluttered in the wind that swirled through the streets, round the houses and over the bridge. Suddenly, the tigress glimpsed the twitch of a black and amber striped tail in the drifts of blossom that had fallen from the cherry trees. Amoy had followed Zhu Yingtai's intrepid trail and travelled up the mountain. He entered the village and there he found his destiny and was united with the beautiful tigress of his dreams. Through the forests preserved by the villagers, Amoy and the tigress were free to roam the sacred mountain, where they and their children continue to play with butterflies.
Butterfly Lover, Cherry Blossom Girl, a book of The Legend of the Last South China Tiger and Weeping Durga were auctioned in London and Malaysia at Save Wild Tigers events to raise funds for wild tigers.