Artist uses rhinos to raise awareness

An Istanbul artist wants to raise awareness of the environment and extinct animals with a new multidisciplinary show on Africa's great horned wonders, rhinos.

Özge Günaydın's exhibition titled "Rhinos Back in Town" includes sculptures, paintings, digital art, videos, installations, performance, and a special documentary film made just for the display. The exhibition is at Istanbul's Maslak Masterpiece Hall.

"Our aim in this exhibit is to draw attention to the world's sixth mass extinction and to raise awareness of environmental events through extinct animals," Günaydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Looking at the current massive losses of animals and species worldwide, many scientists have called the ongoing disaster the Earth's sixth mass extinction, with billions of animals disappearing because of human activity.

The 41-year-old artist, along with the curator Denizhan Özer, worked for two years to make the show a reality.

One of the most striking features of the exhibit is a special fragrance created for the display.

"When you enter the exhibition area, you encounter a forest smell that just hits your face," she said.

Giant rhino in Istanbul

Günaydın conveys her message in the exhibit with the help of several rhino figures, including a giant one in the center of the display.

She first encountered the horned pachyderms when she was 10 years old, in the form of a rhino toy.

"Rhinos are well known for their nobility and virtue," and despite their giant size, they are humble, according to Gunaydın.

"They are monogamous, herbivorous, their droppings are very valuable for the environmental cycle. They take care of their calves up to age four, and they do not harm any...