Yu-Meng Ko has been awarded the Gold Prize in the Mixed Media Painting category at the Future Art & Design Award UK 2025 Winter Season for her work The Rabbit’s Plea.
At first glance, The Rabbit’s Plea appears tender and delicate—a soft white rabbit rendered with care and sensitivity. Yet beneath its gentle surface lies a profound ethical question about ownership, vulnerability, and how humans relate to animals that cannot speak for themselves.
Rather than confronting viewers with shock or spectacle, Yu-Meng Ko’s work unfolds quietly. It invites empathy before unease, affection before reflection. By choosing a subject that is often associated with innocence and comfort, she exposes the tension between affection and exploitation, asking viewers to reconsider the moral assumptions embedded in everyday choices.
What makes The Rabbit’s Plea especially resonant is its restraint. The work does not accuse or explain; instead, it leaves space for contemplation. Through subtle visual cues, the rabbit becomes both an individual being and a symbol—standing in for countless living creatures whose lives are shaped by human convenience and desire.
Below, Yu-Meng Ko speaks in her own words about the origins of the work, the challenges of creating it, and her experience participating in the award.
Interview
Q: What initially inspired this project? Was there a particular idea, moment, or question that sparked its creation?
Yu-Meng:
I started this project because I really like rabbits.
They are soft, quiet, and gentle, and they look like they trust people.
One day, I began thinking about how some animals that look cute are bought, sold, or used, even though they are alive and can feel pain. That made me wonder:
If something is cute, does that mean people are allowed to own it?
I imagined a rabbit that used to run freely in a garden, but then someone tied a number to it, as if it were just an object. I wanted to draw the rabbit the way I see it—not as a price, but as a living animal with feelings.
This artwork is my way of helping the rabbit speak, because it cannot talk for itself.
Q: What was the most exciting or most challenging aspect of bringing this work to life?
Yu-Meng:
The hardest part was not making the picture too scary, but also not pretending everything was okay. I wanted people to like the rabbit first, and then, after looking longer, to feel that something was wrong.
Drawing the white fur was very challenging because I wanted it to look soft and real. If the rabbit looked real, then its pain would feel more real too.
The most exciting moment was when I realized I didn’t need to explain everything. Just a small tag or a string was enough to make people start asking questions. That’s when I learned that art can ask quiet questions, not just show pretty things.
Q: How was your experience taking part in the Future Art & Design Award UK?
Yu-Meng:
When I decided to enter this artwork into a competition, I felt a little nervous. I wasn’t sure if people would understand my rabbit, because my drawing is not trying to please anyone.
Other children might draw happy or colorful pictures, but my rabbit is quiet and a little sad. I learned that entering a competition is not just about winning—it is about being brave enough to show what I truly care about.
I hope that when people see my artwork, they stop for a moment and listen to the rabbit’s small voice.
Follow the Artist
https://www.instagram.com/momo.ko713/
