Pigcasso, Joanne Lefson, Jonathan Ball Publishers, ISBN: 9781788404204

PIGCASSO is an autobiographical story of Joanne Lefson’s adventure from animal lover, vegan and animal activist to rescue farm manager and facilitator for animal art. She rescues a pig ready for the slaughter from a factory farm and discovers that the pig enjoys the feel of brushing a paintbrush against a canvas or paper. Slowly, she introduces paints and colours, and with some gentle encouragement and providing opportunity for Pigcasso, the pig brings colour, line and form onto blank canvases. Eventually, her art becomes a hit and sells for thousands of dollars a piece, but the journey to get there is fraught with struggles, obstacles and doubts.

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The book follows Joanne’s ups and downs as she works to get her animal rescue farm going and successful. Pigcasso plays a part in her dream of seeing animals being shown more compassion and the world changing their views on animal agriculture – she has an impact by virtue of her fame.

At times, I loved reading the ins and outs of Joanne’s and Pigcasso’s story, but at other times, I found it a bit slow. I enjoyed the second half of the book more and loved the glossy photos interspersed through the book. Joanne certainly makes you aware of the cruelty of animal agriculture, and reading the book will challenge your convictions on what you eat. Whether it changes your lifestyle may be a different story, but it definitely makes you more aware of the intelligence and sentience of the animals we as humans may consume. I do think she could’ve offered a more balanced take on how to slowly cut out meat, dairy or eggs as opposed to suddenly going vegan as for some people, it’s not as straightforward physiologically or even logistically. That said, Pigcasso herself, and her art, can hopefully change the paradigm and work to shift society away from cruel animal husbandry practices even if through just building awareness.

Overall, it was a sweet and interesting read, written with humour, sincerity and humility. It also taught me some fascinating facts about the world of professional art. Kathy Bosman – 3 ½ / 5 stars

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