I collaborated on the concept of this painting with Gareth Patterson who initially approached me with a low-resolution photo capturing the shocked response of the audience after viewing a screening of the film Blood Lions he had attended and spoken at.While Blood Lions has brought worldwide attention to the commercialisation of the horrific canned lion industry, the killing of Cecil the lion in July 2015 sparked international public outrage, causing a turning point in how trophy hunting is perceived.Cecil (c. 2002 – 1 July 2015) was a male Southwest African lion (Panthera leo bleyenberghi) that lived primarily in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. Cecil was wounded with an arrow by Walter Palmer, an American dentist and recreational big-game hunter, was then tracked, and on 1 July 2015, approximately 40 hours later, killed with a rifle.The main focus of the painting is Cecil the Lion, larger than life and overwhelming the audience as a symbol of our insignificance in the face of nature. Hope is expressed as Cecil walks towards the light yet he is partly obscured by barbed wire depicting the ongoing cruel oppression of lions.The audience includes three lion activists, Gareth Patterson, Drew Abrahamson and Michelle Higginson. Arrows rain down on the audience illustrating our connection to the damage we are inflicting on the rest of nature.