The Rhino has been Dehorned.

Our reason for dehorning the Rhino is to outline and highlight visually the reason why the Rhinos are hunted. There was a little apprehension when it was first being sawn off because we were not sure if any of it would crumble or fall apart, but it was a success! A piece of wood was screwed down to cover the hole, then sealed with polyfiller and left to dry. I sanded this down and applied a layer of resin to secure everything together and achieve a smooth finish similar to rest of the Rhino. The horn will be displayed and should have a provoking impact. 

Liverpool 21 May 2010

There would be photos but the camera managed to munch the film tusk tusk...

train sun jellyfish photos china photo cream soda milkshake film paint 

"... the camera should be a power in this age of instruction to instruct the age"

"the camera has always been the companion of my travels" John Thomson.

Liverpool Maritime Museum 

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/china/

It's a beautiful exhibition of 19th century photography of China, ordinary and extraordinary daily life of its people. The music in the background adding a lullaby to the photos. 

A privileged glimpse to another life through his eyes, seeing what he saw, breathed, lived, documenting seconds in time, something we are unable to store and retain within our memory. 

I have a fascination with trying to keep the past. An impossible task because whilst we are trying to get back what has already been, we miss what is coming, passing us by forever, lost invisible. The cycle you can never win.  

A foundation http://www.afoundation.org.uk/liverpool/details.php?id=50

I had seen the flyer for this and was drawn to the image of Red Rum for quite a while, the photo for some reason really intrigues me. The colours all have the same tone. I like things like that.

Brass art 'inside the invisible' captivating.

Jacob Dahlgren 'colour reading and contexture' I liked that if you went cross eyed and squinted it moved and breathed almost... it is alive!

Paint Day 2

Day 2 of painting  (I was excited to be painting again!)  the first coat is nearly halfway and already the colours are looking good. We are working round the task of trying to paint a 3d image onto a 2d surface which isn't even flat, but we have a plan!

Liverpool

May 11th 2010. We went to Liverpool to sketch the Rhino skull and Horse skeleton they have at the Museum.  At Chester station they currently have one of the Rhino's outside, the lady bug. Whilst waiting outside the George and Dragon I saw the purple and pink baby Rhino being driven passed but didn't have time to grab my camera before it had gone. We were lucky enough to be taken behind the scenes at the museum because the horse skeleton is not on display. It was an amazing thing to see and a real help with the anatomy of the Rhino as the Horse and Rhino have the same body plan. Nando's pudding yum...

We have found the Rhino

After days of wonder we finally saw the Rhino, Albeit in a garage in a field! Its exciting to see the scale of the sculpture, The Rhino really is huge. 

Day Three Drawing Board

Day three saw us back in our old first year studio. Slightly odd and it seems an age away since we were working there but it was less than a year ago! We have been working on the sketch for the concept of our Rhino. This will help explain our vision for the Rhino tomorrow at the meeting. 

Rhino sketches

We have decided on the idea for our Rhino and it will have a direct visual impact which suggests and shows the danger the Black Rhino's are in, they are heavily poached for their horns which are then sold on illegally for traditional chinese medicines, and decorative items. The front of the Rhino will be painted to expose the skeleton, around the middle section of the animal the flesh, muscles and at the rear- the skin of the Rhino. The design will show the graduation between the skeleton, muscle and skin. We want it to look as if the skin was peeled away. Also, our plan is to dehorn the Rhino, to directly get the message across that this is a serious issue. The graphic issue of seeing even a fake dehorned rhino will spark thought, raise awareness and hopefully help progress in the conservation of the Rhino.