Dubbed the the Preservator, the figure has been planted overnight at the Fort Klapperkop Heritage site in Pretoria East, South Africa and was placed on an illegal dumping site.
It depicts a rhino-like figure on two legs, featuring a bird on its hand.
Its origin was a mystery and its significance was open to interpretation.
The Oxpecker-shaped bird on its hand was seen by many as a guardian of the rhino. African rhino and African Oxpeckers share a symbiotic relationship that was once confidently described as mutualistic, but recent research indicates that the relationship is more complex. The two animals are not entirely equal partners, with the relationship tipped in favour of the bird. The Oxpecker is the rhino’s guardian.
The sculptor is the South African actor, director and producer, Francois Coertze. Coertze said he made the Presevator in 2011 to document his emotions after he learnt of how a rhino, Absa, was found dead three days after being killed by poachers.
Coertze later replaced Preservator with two dancing elephants. Coertze said his elephants were dancing to celebrate the death of poachers.
I came across this sculpture while making photographs in the are and had no idea what the meaning or origin of the sculpture was. It was a striking sculpture that overlooked the city from a nearby hill. I tried to interpret my feeling and view at the time in this photograph.
Statistics
Place: 40 out of 59 Avg (all users): 5.6286 Avg (participants): 5.4375 Avg (non-participants): 5.7895 Views since voting: 243 Views during voting: 145 Votes: 70 Comments: 3 Favorites: 0
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.