Images of Nyaru Menteng

Annie Marie Musselman began her conservation project last year when she learned of deforestation by palm oil plantations in Borneo.

Click here to view Annie Marie's slideshow

Here is what she has written about her exhibition, "For The Innocents".

"The life we live as humans is, for the most part, something we have created. Our surroundings have affected and changed us. There is a life however, that many animals like orangutans, chimpanzees and elephants lead that is subject to cages, torture, neglect, and forced over-breeding. These are the horrors of captivity.

Animal's lives have little worth in our culture. Their habitats are ruined for commodities such as palm oil, or soy. They are put into cages, while their bodies are made sick and used for scientific research. These realities cause me to pause and ask, "What makes humans and animals so different that these practices go on unchecked?" I have experienced amazing bonds with animals in my quest for the universal answer to this question.

I sensed that the human world needed to come face to face with creatures in their sanctuaries. My work is encouraged by the belief that if humans witness the innocence and beauty of these animals in my pictures, they will realize what they have lost due to technology, overpopulation, and the rejection of nature, and maybe stop endangering them. It is my intent therefore, to document the world of sanctuaries and animal refugee camps. With the urgent issue of climate change and the state of environmental catastrophe it is important to document the lives of these animals, some on the verge of extinction, and how they are saved by sanctuaries in an artful way. Two of my current projects have come together to create a larger exhibition I am calling For The Innocents.

My animal conservation project began last year when I learned of deforestation by palm oil plantations in Borneo. I visited the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary in Central Kalimantan, Borneo with Eco writer, Hillary Rosner. Eleven of the photographs were published in Rosner's article Searching for Sanctuary in Newsweek, August 2009.

Annie Marie Musselman On behalf of Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary

10 March 2010
It is no secret that orangutans are threatened with extinction because their rain forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Ten years ago, Shawn Thompson, a writer, former journalist and university professor, set out to chronicle the threat to orangutans in a book released in March 2010. Read Article »

10 March 2010
Research into the long calls of male Orangutans in Borneo has given scientists new insight into how these solitary apes communicate through dense jungle. Read Article »

2 March 2010
'Environmentally-friendly' biofuels have been found to be more harmful to the planet than normal fossil fuel. Read Article »

22 February 2010
BBC documentary shows Indonesian company clearing protected rainforest.

18 February 2010
Gorillas, orang-utans and a cyanide-eating lemur are among the world’s 25 most critically endangered primates, scientists have said. Read Article »

5 February 2010
The European Commission and some EU member states hope to redefine palm oil plantations as "forests," according to a leaked document from the EU executive. Read Article »

26 January 2010
Project to create sustainable palm oil project undermined by Western firms

25 January 2010
Payments to developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation will only succeed if corruption and lack of financial management capacity are addressed, says new report. Read Article »