Nearly all species of rhinoceros in the world are critically endangered. More than 8000 rhinos have been poached on the African continent in the past decade alone. Poachers will often brutally mutilate the rhino in order to obtain as much of the valuable horn as possible, before leaving it to bleed to death. Consumer awareness about the false claims regarding rhino horn’s health properties has caused a significant decline in value, but the keratinous (keratin = found in human fingernails) horn is still worth around $22,000 US per kilogram on the black market. There are now fewer than 20,000 Southern White Rhinos remaining in the world and Northern White Rhinos were declared extinct in the wild in 2008. Earlier this year, scientists in Italy were able to successfully create embryos of Northern White Rhino—a tiny glimmer of hope.
I created this piece as a reminder of the many ways humans have thoughtlessly decimated this planet. I hope it will force us all to reflect inwardly and recognize our own blind consumerism.
- Only 30 prints created in each size
- All prints created with pigment-based archival inks on 235 gsm paper
- All prints hand-signed and numbered
