Rhinos on the Loose in Sydney

Well… there are not literally wild rhinos on the loose in Sydney. What it’s really all about is Taronga Zoo creating the Taronga Wild! Rhino Trail. The trail has some 125 rhino statues uniquely painted by artists and sponsored by Australian business to help raise awareness of the critical plight facing rhinos through poaching and habitat loss. The rhinos are literally everywhere and are here till the end of April. In May they will be auctioning off the statues with the proceeds going towards Taronga’s rhino conservation programs. This is the sort of thing that you would expect in Melbourne, but fortunately we are seeing more and more of these urban art exhibitions. I think they are cool, and with phone camera in hand these are some of the statues that I captured.

In Darling Harbour…

At Dawes Point…

On King Street Wharf…

Out the front of the NSW Government offices…

At Pitt Street Mall…

In the Rocks…

They are everywhere, and they are colourfully cool.

Melbourne Urban Sculpture

My work in Melbourne has now come to an end, and I am relieved because my health has taken a beating with flights and air-conditioning taking its toll on my lungs. But one of the many things I will miss is how beautiful the cultural fabric of the city is. Melbourne, like Adelaide, has really embraced the Arts. While you may not like certain pieces, it changes the urban landscape and makes you ponder – instead of mindlessly walking around like ants between concrete, glass, and steel. I would not be exaggerating when I say that this post could have contained 1,000 photos as the city is peppered with urban art and sculpture. But I have not been in Melbourne on holiday, so my photo excursions have been limited to after the working day is done. Here are a couple of pieces that grabbed my attention, in particularly the super-human scale of the pieces and how people can interact with the pieces. I love the visions that the artists have brought to life; a large cow in the shape of a milk carton, a giant slug coming out of the ground, some large white garden things, and giant golden bees. As usual the images click through to the larger images on my Flickr account.

 

On one other side note, I have passed 5,000 views on my Flickr account this last week. Since I have started this blog and got out to shoot, I have focused on getting more of my photos on the web. I am quietly happy that I am able to share my pics with others.