British artist Josef O’Connor has teamed up with our UK partner the World Land Trust to help save 20 hectares of Atlantic Forest in the Guapiaçu valley. Josef is selling edition prints of his work entitled Going, Going, Gone, currently on display as Lot 44 at the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition in London.

Centuries of deforestation have left a mere 7% of the original Atlantic Forest area standing, and what is left remains highly threatened. With generous donations, REGUA is able to purchase areas of Atlantic Forest in the Guapiaçu valley as well as reforest cleared areas to connect these fragments, restoring deforested land and preserving the Atlantic Forest’s unique biodiversity.

Going, Going, Gone features a visual representation of the area to be purchased. Lot 44 is a screen-print onto an aerial photograph of the region, with 100 prints available at £400 each to raise £20,000. Each print sold in the edition equates to 0.5 acres.

Josef is hoping that environmentally conscious art lovers will help him raise funds to save this area of forest. “We all know our way of life is killing the planet, so we have a clear choice – either take responsibility for our actions and work together to bring about positive change, or face the stark reality that the ecosystems we all rely on will soon be lost forever. Going, Going, Gone was conceived to encourage people to be part of the solution. It’s a great opportunity to be part of something truly transformational, so I’m hopeful it will really appeal to those determined to make a difference.”

Going, Going Gone by Josef O’Connor will be on show until 3rd January 2021, and prints of Lot 44 to raise funds for this appeal are available for purchase here.