#99 - It's Gettin' Hot In Here
Designed By Vitor Machado Lira (Minas Gerais - Brazil)
Inspiração: Standing side-by-side with the NYPD, FDNY is one of the most important entities of New York City, a living and breathing embodiment of the toughness and resilience of its people.
Having spent years studying near the Big Apple and hearing stories upon stories about the heroic NYC firefighters during 9/11, this design firefighters and also calls for readiness and dedication to extinguish the fires that set ablaze jaguar habitats and disrupt the global climate.
Vitor Machado Lira's Bio': I've been teaching myself to draw (on paper, mostly in black and white), write (short reflections) and capture pictures/ video to reverently emulate and share my experience of the beauties of the natural world ever since I could hold a pencil, and, in the past few years, a camera/phone.
My fascination with non-human animals and wilderness led me to an educational and professional path to investigate and better understand our minuscule part in the whole of existence. In 2008, as a 17-year-old, I left my home country of Brazil on my own to study and work in the United States, a journey that taught me as much about the world as it did about myself.
My artistic expression was mostly for my own eyes to enjoy and refine throughout my childhood and early adult life. However, having lived the American Dream (and its nightmares) by age 30, I have listened to and felt an irresistible calling to come back home to Brazil, home to the wild, and home to art I want to enjoy, embrace, and empower.
I come to this project after a serendipitous walk in my hometown of Belo Horizonte that led me to the Jaguar Parade, which put me face to face with a meant-to-be cocktail of home, wild, and art. As I surrender myself to whatever beauty, nature, and learning I am propelled to create, I hope my designs are a reflection of the way I lead my life to promote a mindful and joyful living experience for more human and non-human beings.
Materiais necessários: If possible, replicas of the FDNY uniform would be ideal in order to create a realistic sculpture that displays the appropriate equipment (gloves, boots, helmet, jackets and pants). As mentioned in the Terms and Conditions, I will be securing the paint to bring the design to life, but would like support to identify local shops in the NY metropolitan area that use vegan materials only.