Artful rhino project creates awareness

A crash of 16 rhinos, painted and decorated by local artists, has taken up residence at the Table Bay Hotel, aiming to raise awareness against poaching, and at the same time, showcase the artists’ work.

The little rhinos, part of the Artful Rhino project, are displayed in glass boxes in the hotel’s lobby and entrance, were previously displayed at the V&A Waterfront, where over R100 000 was raised by selling t-shirts bearing prints of the colourful rhino sculptures.

The money was split between NPOs Rhino Custodians and the Emerging Artists Development Trust .

The project was initiated by The Artists Gallery in Waterkant Street and was aimed at highlighting the “creativity and passion of local artists while contributing to meaningful change”, said Jaret Loggenberg, managing director of The Artists Gallery.

Ms Loggenberg, who lives in Somerset West, was also one of the artists. She said the idea came from her mentor and friend Barbara Lenhard.

“Naturally, I was eager to participate, as it brings me great joy to make a difference in the lives of others and to contribute to a good cause.”

She said she assisted in getting all the artists on board, and also contributed financially to the project.

Ms Loggenberg also painted a rhino — a brown and black pattern with bold strokes which she cut from one of her existing paintings to decoupage it onto the sculpture.

“My style is very distinctive and relies on thick brush strokes with natural, warm colours.

She said this was one of the most challenging projects and pushed her it of her comfort zone, as she was accustomed to working on flat surfaces where she could create my own texture with paint.

“After repainting the rhino sculpture three times, I decided to cut one of my existing paintings and decoupage it onto the sculpture.”

She said she wanted people to be reminded every time they look at the rhino, that it’s the imperfections that make them beautiful and unique.

“For me, it’s the feeling you get when you are content and happy with yourself.”

Another artist, Fadiel Hermans, who is from Bo-Kaap but now lives in Westridge, Mitchell’s Plain, said when he heard about the “rhino idea”, he immediately jumped on board to become part of the project because it highlighted the plight of these endangered species, and also, he welcomed the idea of working in three dimensions.

“My style of working is to combine familiar iconography, pop art and street art and putting a twist on it to intrigue the viewer, and allow new questions to be asked of familiar issues.”

He said for his rhino, he chose a popular logo and played around with it to highlight “our beautiful Mother City, Cape Town”.

“I always strive to make a statement with my work, and while reading up on rhinos and if they have any connection to the Cape area, it dawned on me that I should highlight the fact that they were once roaming freely on the slopes of Table Mountain.

“I decided to use the familiar yellow frame (like the ones at popular landmarks around Cape Town) to create the connection between the two.”

The frame has the coordinates of Table Mountain inscribed on it, and Mr Hermanus hopes to point out that natural treasures, such as rhinos, can disappear in the blink of an eye, if not protected.

Other artists who formed part of the project included Moeketsi Moahloli, Andrew Ntshabele,, Claude Chandler, Sarah Danes Jarrett, Sara Gaqa, Cornè Theron, Androetta Bekker and Richie Madyira.

The Table Bay Hotel general manager, Joanne Selby, said the guests visiting the hotel were fascinated by the exhibition.

“They want to own one or more of the pieces and, importantly, the display is focusing their attention on the serious issues that this critically endangered species is facing.”

The beneficiaries of the Artful Rhino Project also welcomed the exhibition and its cause.

Dr Julie Etellin, trustee of The Emerging Artists Development Trust, said both wildlife and art are both pillars of the country and society, and it was wonderful that this initiative uplifts both, while Rhino Custodians spokesman Dr. SP le Roux thanked Artful Rhinos for the donation of the funds, which he said will be used to further deploy technology that enables rhino monitoring and rapid deployment of anti-poaching units.

The Artful Rhinos will be displayed at The Table Bay hotel until the end of November, after which the exhibition will seek its next venue.

People can donate towards the project, and at the end of the year, at a date yet to be determined, they will be auctioned off. All proceeds will be will be shared equally between rhino conservation and The Emerging Artists Development Trust.

The Table Bay Hotel, in line with the exhibition, has also launched Cape Malay- inspired high tea, as a nod to celebrating local artists, flavours and things indigenous to our country.

To donate towards the project, or to find out more about it, visit www.artful-rhinos.com