The Last Three, a 17-foot tall sculpture of three Northern White Rhinos created by the artists Gillie and Marc, arrived on the Astor Place Plaza on March 15, 2018, bringing awareness to the plight and near extinction of this hunted species. Since the installation’s arrival, we have mourned the loss of Sudan, the only living male of the three in the sculpture.
This temporary art installation comes to a close, and will leave Astor Place on June 12th for Forest City New York’s MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, with the first public viewing on Wednesday, June 13th at 6pm. What can you do to help raise awareness? Click here.
At the time of the construction of The Last Three, there were only 3 Northern White Rhinos left in the world ~ 2 females named Najin and Fatu and 1 male. In March, 2018, the 45 year old male rhino, named Sudan, who lived in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, died from an infection on his back right leg. The two remaining females are his daughter and granddaughter.
Now, we are witnessing the extinction of an entire species that walked the Earth for million of years, until mankind became their largest threat. Reading the words of Prof Ted Benton, University of Essex, environmental social scientist and member of the Red-Tree study group, “The fact that this is in the news suggests there is a wider cultural feeling of regret and care about this from so many people who have never seen – and probably never expect to see – a white rhino, and that is heartening in that it shows that people care.” But he said the death was part of a “much wider and deeper issue” – the huge loss of other species.”
As the installation leaves, the hope is that its message remains.
Follow Gillie and Marc on their Website, Facebook and Twitter.