When was this piece created? January 2022
What is the story behind this piece? The story is about the last male northern white rhino Sudan was born in 1973 in Shambe, Sudan. In this work, I intend to express Sudan before he was two years old, with his mother. Humans killed Sudan’s mother when Sudan was two years old. Sudan then was lifted and moved to a zoo in the Czech Republic, in which he spent 34 years (1975 – 2009). When human beings recognized that he was the last male northern white rhino, Sudan was released to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy for a “Last Chance to Survive” breeding program in 2009. Unfortunately, the breeding program didn’t work and Sudan died in 2018 when he was 45 years old, leaving behind only two female northern white rhinos on this planet, his daughter and granddaughter.
What inspired this piece? My art has always been inspired by my love of nature’s diversity and by the concern of species extinction including human species. Many people inspired me including nature conservationists, nature photographers, philosophers and poets.
Is there an outside element that influenced this piece (i.e. another artist, nature, a novel, a theory, etc)? My friend Chun Yu is a poet (Chunyu.org). And her poem The Last Rhino inspired me to choose this theme.
Is this part of a series; if so what is the series? Yes, the series of work will show through Sudan’s life journey, human’s role in the extinction of the specie and the implications on us humans.
Explain/Tell us anything else you would like us to know about this specific work. This series of work is partially supported by an artist grant from the Cambridge Arts Council, an agency of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
A Story of Sudan: the last male Northern white rhino:
Zhonghe (Elena) Li, Mixed media artist
Website: www.wildcraneblog.wordpress.com
Instagram: @hehe.li
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