‘It’s Animal Abuse, Don’t Glorify It’: Russian Photographer Paints Elephant Pink For Photoshoot In Jaipur!

Adding a bit of colour to anything and everything is one of the most signature moves of an artist– which mostly makes the world a better and beautiful place to live. However, even art has its limits, and this Russian photographer seemingly forgot that. Julia Buruleva, a Russian photographer, found herself in the eye of the storm after she ended up painting an elephant pink for a photoshoot in Jaipur, Rajasthan. As per Buruleva's post on the same, it was a concept that came to her mind during her stay in India. “A pink elephant against classic Rajasthani gates,” is what she had envisioned, but when the final product went online, it left most netizens upset.Online outrage was quick to follow, as most netizens dubbed it “animal cruelty”. In her post,

Buruleva did claim that the colours used were “organic and locally-made paint”, but netizens still criticised the idea. Many also pointed out that elephants have “porous and highly sensitive skin”, which might not result well even with “organic colours".Check out the viral post: “How we painted the elephant in Jaipur. It was probably worth coming to India just for this shoot. I spent 6 weeks in Jaipur -after the first week, when my brain was already overloaded with all the colors and images of the city, this idea appeared: a pink elephant against classic Rajasthani gates. Elephants are everywhere there - streets, ornaments, architecture. Practically the main symbol of Rajasthan. I just couldn’t pass by without including one. They’re often decorated for festivals and celebrations -locals paint them in all sorts of colors. I decided on one solid bright pink elephant, the most popular color in Rajasthan,” the post read. “For anyone worried about the elephant - we used organic, locally-made paint, the same kind locals use for festivals so it was absolutely safe for the animal. In India the only thing that really works is praying for the project’s success. Other methods? Almost useless. The prayers were answered,” the post concluded. The post was shared on Instagram by the handle ‘Julia Buruleva’. The post was shared a while back and pulled many views from people.

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A post shared by Julia Buruleva (@julia.buruleva)

Internet’s reactions: “Let’s go to India and paint elephants so my Instagram can get some likes. This is not art, this is pure ANIMAL ABUSE and so not ok to glorify it,” a user said. “Deeply upsetting,” added another in the comment section.ALSO READ: Indian Men ‘Creepily’ Surround Foreign Woman For Selfies Near Jal Mahal In Jaipur! WATCH Viral Video “Hi Julia. Creative freedom is not a free pass for irresponsible expression. This is just a very bad judgement call on your part. Turning an elephant into a pink prop for aesthetics is deeply inappropriate, both ethically and culturally,” another user said. “Using organic colours doesn’t justify the fact that you had to subject an animal to being entirely painted on their body for your art. Elephants have very porous skin and are highly sensitive,” added another person.