Mo Ganji: Red Ruffed Lemur | Rotkragenmaki | Varecia rubra | No. 177/250 from work group 8/99

Mo Ganji shifts his attention to the red ruffed lemur — a large arboreal primate native to the rainforests of northeastern Madagascar — by letting the single line search for inner structure rather than appearance. The line gathers the being into a concentrated presence, leaving aside color, movement and social display to allow a quieter core to emerge. In this process, the line does not insist on the lemur alone; it remains open to the idea that any figure is a temporary designation of something more fundamental.

Varecia rubra is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Endemic to a restricted region of Madagascar, the species inhabits lowland and montane rainforests that have been extensively reduced and fragmented. Population numbers have declined sharply, and remaining groups are isolated across shrinking forest patches.

The principal threats include large-scale deforestation driven by slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal logging, and hunting. As one of Madagascar’s most important seed dispersers, the decline of the red ruffed lemur also disrupts forest regeneration, amplifying ecological consequences beyond the species itself. Fragmentation further undermines social structure and long-term viability.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the lemur can be encountered beyond vibrancy or display. It allows attention to rest on a life woven into canopy continuity, suggesting how the loss of forests erases not only habitats, but the invisible threads that once held entire living systems together.