Can art save the rhino?

WORDS Lisa Johnston PHOTOS facebook.com/RhinoParade

With rhinos teetering on the brink of extinction, My Rhino uses unique ceramic replicas of these animals – and now also life-sized public sculptures à la Cow Parade – to raise funds for rhino conservation in South Africa.

It was the sight of a large, lit-up rhinoceros at the Sandton City shopping centre that inspired Heidi and Nicholas Snaith to come up with a concept to raise funds for rhino conservation. They wanted to do something accessible to get people talking about the poaching plague in our country – in 2012 alone 668 rhinos were butchered for their horns.

As owners of the ceramic design company Or-gari Golden Safari the solution was simple: create small-scale rhino sculptures in a variety of designs and market these at events and exhibitions around the country. They commissioned ceramicist and sculptor Marina Walsh to cast the basic “Mommy”, “Daddy” and “Baby” rhinos, and then asked their team of artists to adorn them into limited-edition designs. Marina’s designs take the exact proportions of the rhino into consideration, from body to the weight of the animal, making them as close to a replica as possible.

“We wanted to include many different designs to cater for everyone’s taste because this isn’t just about saving the rhino, it is also a decor item that people must feel happy to have in their home,” says Heidi. “It’s been amazing to see how many people are emotionally attached to the rhino situation in our country.”

The response to the small rhinos has been so overwhelming that the Snaiths could implement the second phase of the brand, Rhino In The City, which is based on the well-known Cow Parade to raise money for cancer. The couple wants to see cities across South Africa peppered with life-size rhino sculptures decorated by artists to keep the message alive. 

“We now ask renowned artists to volunteer to paint a design on life-size sculptures,” says Heidi. The first large-scale rhino, painted by Zimbabwean artist Clement Mkhize, is currently on display at the Hyde Park Shopping Centre. Clement painted the rhino on location, which gathered a huge amount of excitement and interest among shoppers. They have also introduced a baby rhino for kids to sit and play on.

The next event will be held on 30 April at The Art Company, a gallery at The Morning Glen Shopping Centre in Sandton, where artist Brian Rolfe will be painting a rhino. Brian often makes use of fantasy-like landscapes to comment on our interaction with the earth and the chaos of consumerism. “We need to understand what we have in terms of the abundance of life and what it takes to keep it. My hope is that the sculpture will make people pause and considering making a contribution to conservation.

“My design is a beautiful South African landscape portraying the abundance of our wildlife. This is then disrupted by a target over the landscape to convey the dire poaching situation in our country. Everything around us seems to have a target on it; everything in nature is seen as a commodity and has a price. My hope is that the target on the rhino will invoke emotion and will make the viewer think again about standing more firmly behind this cause.”

The large-scale rhinos will be auctioned at the Hyde Park Shopping Centre later this year. My Rhino donates all proceeds from their sales to the Kariega Foundation’s Save The Rhino Fund. 

The basic Mommy, Daddy and Baby rhino designs are available for between R700 and R1 200, while the limited-edition range costs up to R3 000. To purchase a rhino or find out about future exhibitions and events, visit www.myrhino.co.za.