A total of R110 000 has been raised towards the Rhino Parade, a rhino anti-poaching campaign currently being embarked on by Wildlands Conservation Trust in conjunction with the Durban University of Technology.

The money was raised at a recent auction where South African golf star Gary Player’s rhino sculpture was sold to a Cape Town resident.

The Rhino Parade campaign is geared towards raising funds for the conservation of the rhino species which is currently being threatened by massive poaching. Four celebrity ambassadors were approached to help design and paint four rhino sculptures which were exhibited at the King Shaka International Airport, Durban. The celebrities included rugby player Patrick Lambie, cricketer Shaun Pollock, musician Ray Phiri and swimmer Chad Le Clos. Together with the celebrities, the concept of the design and painting of the sculptures was done by third-year Graphic Design students from the Durban University of Technology.

An additional rhino was recently crafted for Player who is a patron of the Wildlands Conservation Trust. Player’s rhino was designed and painted by DUT lecturer Ernest van der Merwe, with the assistance of Karla Nixon, DUT Fine Art BTech student and Dane Knudsen, the DUT graphic design Master of Technology student who recently returned from New York City after a one-week mentorship with hip-hop great Talib Kweli.

“The Gary Player rhino reflects the Black Knight’s (Gary Player) values for passion, integrity and strength within the golfing arena as well as (his) compassion for nature and children to have a future that is filled with wildlife and dreams of a better tomorrow. It was initially going to be very corporate however the final design was a nice compromise between having lots of text and logos and linking golf with wildlife. The left side of the rhino was allocated to Dr Ian Player (Gary Player’s brother) for all the hard work and effort that he had put into saving the White Rhino from extinction,” said van der Merwe.

Van der Merwe said partnering with the Wildlands Conservation Trust in this initiative has been a great exposure for the third-year students, adding that he hopes the publicity gained from this project will generate more interest in the DUT Graphic Design course.

– Naledi Hlefane

Caption: The rhino sculpture designed by DUT Graphic Design Lecturer Ernest van der Merwe with help from Karla Nixon and Dane Knudsen, the DUT graphic design Master of Technology student who recently returned from New York City after a one-week mentorship with hip-hop great Talib Kweli. This particilar concept was inspired by golf star Gary Player.