I decided to sculpt the elderly Sudan with some urgency in 2015, as his species are literally on the brink of extinction, being the world’s rarest large mammal, with only 3 remaining. Apart from raising funds for rhinos, my aim was to preserve the memory of Sudan and that of the northern white rhino and to raise awareness of their plight. The work is also a statement against extinction at a time when many other species are also at risk due to man, in what is being termed the “anthropocene” or “6^th extinction event”.

PLEASE NOTE: This Blog has been updated since 2016 and some text is hyper linked for you to find further information.The Sudan project is ongoing so I will add developments to this blog as they happen.

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• FILM on the project which ends with a film on Ringo the baby rhino: https://vimeo.com/279295500   Use the password: SudanCamilla1973 to access

Press on the Sudan project:

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy news

The Courier

The Times of Tunbridge Wells

The Kent Messenger

Wadhurst Magazine

David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year

I was delighted that the bronze maquette was shortlisted for this award and was  shown in London at The Mall Galleries in 2016. One of the limited edition of 12 sold on the first night, raising funds for charity. The maquette is now exhibited at the Rountree Tryon Galleries

In 2017 I enlarged the maquette up to one third life size and this new work has been shortlisted for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition in May 2018 at The Mall Galleries, London. Link for a feature on the work by DSWAY

 

 

 Funds raised from Sudan

Over the last 5 years I have focused on raising funds through my sculptures for conservation efforts in Kenya, mainly for rhinos, achieving over $50,000 to date.  It is important that I contribute back to the wildlife that my sculptures depend on. My work depends on extensive live study, in order to capture the animal’s typical behavior, character and anatomy.

The first edition of Sudan was auctioned through Wild Aid  Charity Gala in California from a photo of the clay in progress in late 2015, raising $3,000. Further sales, since the completion of the bronze, have enabled Camilla to add an extra $1,000. This $4000 has purchased a portable incubator, which is needed for a laboratory on The Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. The lab is being set up in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service, to assist in reproduction of critically endangered species, including that of the northern white rhino. The Rhino Pride Foundation are also collaborating with Ol Pejeta, in assisting setting up the laboratory and sourcing the equipment. A further $3,600 has supported the David Shepherd Foundation through the sale at their exhbition and $1,500 at For Rangers/Save the Rhino diner in December 2017.

The process of making Sudan

I spent several months sculpting the elderly Sudan (born in 1973), based on The Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, alongside referencing archive images of him in his prime, from the 1980’s.

Fascinated by the symbiotic relationship I noticed between Sudan and many other small animals, I decided to include a lively and vociferous oxpecker, who I often saw feeding on Sudan’s parasites. The flighting bird is intended to draw attention to the impact of extinction of a mega herbivore on a larger ecosystem, pointing to symbiotic relationships that could be affected by extinctions. It also symbolizes the soul’s departure, (a well known symbol used through art history is the winged soul departing to heaven), given that the elderly Sudan and his species’ days are numbered.

I have also sculpting  a pair of dung beetles having see many using Sudan’s dung!

Prior to starting the sculpture, I had to make a few important decisions on how to best portray Sudan. Firstly I decided to portray his horns as they would have been in the wild, in his full glory. To capture how his horns would have been, I referenced archive images of him from the 1980’s, when his horns were natural, long and straight. As he aged in the zoo in Czech Republic his horns curled over because of the metal poles on the shelter and the rocks he was using to sharpen his horn against. No images of wild northern white rhinos have displayed such curling of horns, so experts say this was captivity induced. When he was moved to Ol Pejeta his horns were cut down to reduce risk of poaching.

Sudan is a gentle and sensitive animal but is instinctively alert, ready to flee at any time. However due to being captive for most of his life he is fairly ‘tame’, enjoys human company, often following his keepers. I was therefore able to take measurements directly from him.

I wanted to capture his livelier side in my work, so I took a lot of photos of him moving freely and going about his daily routine. The active walk I choose, is typical of him when he is slightly ebullient and on route to see the females, he then has this excited carriage with head held up, ears pricked and tail curled. I found this pose captivating, dynamic and telling of a spirited, wild, instinct driven animal beneath his gentle quiet demeanour we see a lot today.

After pose was decided, I measured Sudan extensively, using callipers, and worked out how many times smaller than life the work will be, so that all measurements were scaled down as accurately as possible. The original small maquette is 8.4 times smaller than life. I made the armature/a steel and aluminium skeleton and fixed this securely to a wood base. Expandable foam was used to bulk out the main core of the trunk.

Clay (a non drying oil based Chevant clay) was then built up onto this structure and the sculpting commenced. The sculpting for me is a long process of adding and taking away, until I am happy that the form, proportions and anatomy are correct and that there is life and character in the pose. Only then do I work in detail. Ongoing careful observation is key and I also spent time comparing southern white rhinos to the northern whites, to make sure to capture the differences and to record this correctly for future generations who sadly may never be able to see a northern white rhino in life.

Once completed a wood box was made to carry the work back to UK in hand luggage. The work is then moulded and the lost wax method of bronze casting followed. The foundry developed a grey patina for Sudan and much time went into perfecting this.

 

 

Enlargement of Sudan to one third life size – half way to end goal of life size.

In January 2017 with a gap in my commissions and with a fundraiser coming up in March, organised by Helping Rhinos for the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, I decided to follow my dream and enlarge the small maquette to 1/3rd life size and it was agreed that I could show the clay in progress at this event.  This is the mid way step to doing a life size version, which is my end goal. If I can raise the necessary funds to enlarge Sudan to life size, to just cover the foundry production costs (this is not a profit making work), I plan to tour the work in capital cities to raise awareness of the NWRs fate and to draw attention to the dire situation for all other rhino species who are under such great threat.

The northern white rhinos and Sudan

There are no northern white rhinos left in the wild, (their war torn home ranges being Chad, Uganda, Sudan, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo), having been poached for their horn, which is prized in the east as a traditional Chinese medicine & worth more per kg than gold. Ironically the horn is only keratin, like our nails, and has no proven medicinal value.

Rhinos evolved over 5 million years ago and it was around a million years ago that the northern white rhino sub species seperated from the southern white rhino, adapting to suit their own ranges. However millions of years of evolution, of a magnificent and unique animal, is soon to be forever removed by us. Sudan is elderly and is the last male of his species with only 2 females left. If nothing else this must be a lesson to humanity to act before it is too late for many other threatened species.

Features specific to the northern white rhino which sets them apart from the southern whites include higher head carriage, smaller heads, curly, big, hair fringed ears, pronounced skin pearls/texture and a straighter backline. All of which I capture in the work. The skin pearls are not detailed as my style of working is not to over work the surface as the sculpture can then lose freedom and life in the finish.

Sudan was born in 1973, in Sudan, then aged 2 he was taken to safety at the Dvur Kralove Zoo, Czech Republic. In 2009, he and 3 others were moved to The Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya, where it was hoped that the climate & rich grasslands would provide favourable breeding conditions but sadly it was in vain, which is why vets are now urgently pursuing IVF & stem cell methods. Link here to more on the history.

Acknowledgements

Numerous people have assisted me in this project, without them, it would not have been possible. I am enormously grateful.

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy for generously granting me access to Sudan and enabling me to stay on site in my tent, while sculpting.

The northern white rhino team on The Ol Pejeta Conservancy who were incredibly long suffering and patient and who taught me so much about rhinos.

Sudan– for calmly putting up with my presence for far too long and for being a gorgeous chap!

Jan Stejskal of Dvur Kralove Zoo, Czechoslovakia Republick for searching out archive images of Sudan.

Kes Hillman Smith– An author, conservationist and expert on northern white rhinos, who gave formative critique on the work.

Morne de la Rey– Vet. For offering formative critique on rhino anatomy.

Livingstone Art Founders– Casting of the work into bronze.

Sculpture Art Castings/Lou Grandi– moulding the work.

Jeremiah– Carpenter, who does all my wood work for bases and boxes in Kenya.

Juttsons, Nanyuki– for all my images/copies to scale.

Matthew Hollow and Thomas Rowell for photography.

Essential Stone– for the stone bases.

Others on Ol Pejeta who assisted with my tent and much more! The Bush Camp Team and staff at Research Centre Ol Pejeta, David, Lucy and Co. Stephen Huckett when the tent was about to float off to Samburu in the floods.

Thank you all.

 

Donations to Ol Pejeta Conservancy from sculpture sales Sept. 2015

Equipment:

In September I was happy to hand over binoculars and rechargeable batteries to Philip Songok, research assistant at the Ol Pejeta Ecological Monitoring Unit. The batteries will be used for GPS for the rhino monitoring team.

In December 4 solar lights/phone chargers were donated for the northern white rhino team,which I topped up to 9, so each staff member had his own, when more funds were available in January. This eased the feeding of the new orphan rhino Ringo at night with light and enabled the guys to cook and read at night and to have phones charged in case of emergencies.

These donations resulted from a percentage of sculpture sales being set aside for Ol Pejeta.Previous donations of binoculars and 4 MMS infrared cameras are already being put to good use by the ranger teams. The cameras are placed at vulnerable positions on the Conservancy fence and as soon as they sense movement, they relay photos via multi media text message to a mobile phone, enabling prompt reaction.

Other Adventures on Ol Pejeta

November: It has been a full 2 months and despite my study being based from Morani on Ol Pejeta, where Sudan lives in a large enclosure, I have seen so much on the conservancy, both from my tent and on my journeys to and from Morani. These memorable experiences include a big old buffalo bull being slowly killed by disemboweling over 7 hours one night, only 12 meters from my tent with a pride of lions, numerous hyena and several jackal all fighting and feasting. It was horrific to lie on my air bed on the ground so close and to hear the ongoing, pained grunting of the poor buffalo intersperced by roaring lions and cackling hyena right beside me. I have never experienced anything as intense in all the 16 years I have been coming to Africa. Suffice to say I had no sleep! The buffalo ended up dying inside the plane hangar on the airstrip. Here are a couple of sound recordings taken from my bed! The following night hyena were running around my tent searching for the carcass which the conservancy staff had dragged out of the hangar into the bush.

As the rains started the place has been teeming with life. One day after a particularly heavy storm, nearly flooding me out of my tent, the sky was literally filled with swarms of flying ants. I captured a video of a baboon feasting by a termite mound where hundreds of ants were appearing for their first experience of daylight, only to be quickly grabbed by a baboon and gobbled up. Other highlights have been watching a hyena family with pups from a nearby den and wild dogs too.

In October there was a very special addition to the Morani enclosure. A baby rhino collapsed, unable to get milk from his mum and had to be rescued. I attach here a link to a film I made of this dear little calf who everyone falls in love with.

Every day on Ol Pejeta brought a new fascinating experience and no night was without hyena cackling and lion roaring near my tent. I never forget how privileged I am to call this work but am hopeful that I can give something back to help keep these precious creatures and wild places safe and to support those who are working hard in the field to look after these animals and at considerable risks.