'3D Printed' Animals Depict The Unique Nature Of Endangered Species

2016-05-18

As part of a campaign for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Young & Rubicam Paris has created a series of images that depicts the unique and unchangeable aspects of killing wildlife. The advertisements aim to bring a comparison between technologies that can quickly build and build matter, like 3D-printing, and the fragility of animal life – a condition not as clearly repairable as a broken household object. The digital compositions depict three animals – an elephant, whale, and orangutan – with parts of their bodies exposed to view. Above their bodies, a 3D-printer obviously attempts to build new layers of skeletal matter, acting a subtle symbol of the difficulty of this situation. The accompanying text reads “if only they were this easy to reproduce,” a simple yet strong message that underscores the idea that the loss of wildlife is an inevitable act with permanent consequences.