No Mission Impossible by Angus Gardner

No Mission Impossible. 

"Red squirrels, our native species, are mainly found in parts of Northern England and Scotland due to the introduction of the invasive Grey Squirrels in the late 1800s, who out compete Reds for food and habitat and inadvertently pass on a squirrel pox virus to the defenceless reds to which the greys are immune. 

One species, the reds, are cherished and protected, the other, through no fault of their own, are classified as vermin and can be legally euthanised. Both species are expert problem solvers when it comes to accessing food, particularly their primary food source, seeds and nuts.

People go to enormous lengths to try to make their garden bird feeders ‘squirrel proof’ but more often than not, the squirrel, through ingenuity and perseverance, will find a way.

I love watching squirrels in action. The way they bound, pause, then bound again - I imagine them on a mission, the pause is them receiving radio instructions in a hidden earpiece. In fact, I can’t help but hear the Mission Impossible theme tune in my head whenever I see a squirrel going about its business. 

We have hundreds of greys in the woods on the farm (Obi is obsessed with them) - our native reds are sadly and fairly recently no more. There’s still an optimistic sign in the woods informing you of a number to call if you see a red squirrel.

I wanted to capture all of this in a single portrait for my latest painting. My red squirrel is stealing nuts. He’s come up with a Mission Impossible style method of infiltrating a Grey Squirrel’s imagined home to steal the Grey’s prized collection of nuts, heavily protected by security laser trip lights and an illuminated glass cloche.

A fire slowly burns out as the clock on the mantlepiece strikes midnight. Portraits celebrating the Grey’s greatest nut foraging achievements adorn the walls. The unsuspecting Greys have gone to bed, unaware that their underdog Red counterpart is on a mission and has figured out a way to outsmart them. 

No Mission Impossible is titled in honour of all squirrel’s acrobatic ingenuity but also with hope that one day, the Reds will regain their native homes, and I’ll see them return to the woods at the bottom of my garden"

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