The Astor Place Cube may soon get some surreal company. A sculpture of tree Northern White Rhinos stacked on top of each other like circus animals.
You don’t have to keep up with conservation or ecological news to be aware of the plight of the Northern White Rhino. The Species is on the brink of extinction with exactly three left in existence. Now, two artists, a husband and wife team, plan to honor the majestic creatures with a bizarre sculpture to be placed in Astor Square.
Gillie and Marc, the couple in question, are trying to raise $50,000 to erect the statue in January of next year. The total cost of the piece is $200K, $150k of which will be donated by Gillie ana Marc themselves and the rest is open for donations via Kickstarter.
The sculpture will show Sudan, Najin and Fatu, the final three of the rhinos in existence, stacked on top of each other like circus animals, and would be the biggest Rhino sculpture in the world.
The piece is said to bid a fond farewell to the Northern White Rhino and raise awareness of the peril of other Rhino species around the world.
After NYC, Gillie and Marc plan on embarking on a ten-city global tour with the work… but all this does beg the question… would the money not be better spent on conservation rather than giant statues?
If you want to contribute to the project, all the info can be found here.
Featured image source [kickstarter]