After nearly three months on Astor Place, it's time for "The Last Three" sculpture to move on.
Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner will be moving their 17-foot bronze sculpture, which arrived here on on March 15, later tonight.
The Schattners recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – "to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade." (Shortly after the sculpture's unveiling, the BBC reported that Sudan had died.)
Visitors to the sculpture were encouraged to leave a goodbye message ... with the artists hoping to collect 1 million messages worldwide to "put them toward a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education." You can read more about the project here.
The sculpture had its fans... for example...
❄️ Snow begins to cover "The Last Three" rhino sculpture located in Astor Place, New York City on April 2, 2018. The incredible 17-foot-tall interactive artwork is being created to raise critical awareness about rhino conservation. (Photo: Gordon Donovan) #GOODBYERHINOS pic.twitter.com/ZfP498efaF
— Gordon Donovan (@gordonovan) April 2, 2018
Cool new artwork on Astor Place #nyc. “The Last Three”, highlighting the threat of extinction which looms over rhinos. pic.twitter.com/z3z7cIAUU9
— NYU Primatology (@nyuprimatology) March 25, 2018
Upon its unveiling, New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz wrote that "it is an ugly, bathos-filled folly that proves my adage that 95 percent of all public sculpture is crap. ... It’s like a Vegas acrobatic act."
In any event, the sculpture won't be going too far: the Schattners will be moving it to a yet-to-be-disclosed new location in NYC.
Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year
World's tallest rhino sculpture arrives on Astor Place this week
The rhinos have arrived on Astor Place