Gift of the Rhinoceros

Artist: Mikaela Castledine

Television natural history presenters have replaced the impresario who once brought us the wonders of the world to marvel at and be inspired. But how we feel about exotic places and endangered species is manipulated through lenses and lighting. In this series I am trying to recreate the experience of marvelling at an outlandish animal, of circling it, of making fun of it, of daring yourself to come close. The Gift of the Rhinoceros is based on BBC footage of a young male rhino presenting a female with the gift of a pair of antlers.