Last Three Northern White Rhinos to Occupy New York City

Artists Gillie and Marc Will Install Life-Size Rhino Sculpture in Astor Place

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Oct 04, 2017, 14:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian artists and conservationists, Gillie and Marc, will launch Goodbye Rhinos at Astor Place in New York City with the installation of their, "The Last Three," sculpture in March 2018. The campaign is an effort to raise awareness of the soon-to-be extinct Northern White Rhinos, Sudan, Najin and Fatu, and an overall threatened species.

The installation will feature three life-size, bronze Northern White Rhino sculptures mounted on top of one another. By creating a space where visitors can see, touch and interact with the rhinos, Gillie and Marc hope to inspire visitors. They also encourage visitors to leave their goodbye messages to the rhinos on the Goodbye Rhinos website, which will double as a petition to the United Nations to put an end to rhino poaching. The conservationists' goal is to generate one million signatures on their petition.

The statue's creators have traveled to Kenya, Africa to visit Sudan, Najin and Fatu where they live, heavily guarded in their own sanctuary. They spent time photographing, sketching and filming the docile rhinos from up close to better understand and get to know them. The sculpture will be the largest rhino sculpture to have been created, standing 16 feet tall and will be made from bronze.

INDE, a leader in virtual reality, is developing a standalone mobile Augmented Reality application with a dedicated channel to bring to life the last three Northern White Rhinos in photo-real 3D. The experience will place the user in Kenya with Sudan, Najin and Fatu, in real time, allowing them to interact and take pictures with the rhinos. The app will use GPS recognition, therefore the experience will be viewable at Astor Place while the artwork is installed there. The application will be available for download from the Apple App Store.

Gillie and Marc will be in New York City in March 2018 for the installation and unveiling of "The Last Three," which will be streamed in a live broadcast by Nat Geo Wild. Visitors are welcome to view the sculpture at Astor Place from March 15, 2018 to April 27, 2018. There are tentative plans for the sculpture to then travel to The Rockefeller Center.

The creation of the sculpture was funded through Gillie and Marc's Goodbye Rhinos' Kickstarter page.

SOURCE Gillie and Marc