By Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest
The
piece, which will spend the day in Manhattan's Union Square, is meant
to draw attention to the dwindling population of African elephants.
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New Yorkers walking along East 17th Street this Saturday may find
themselves faced with the elephant in the room—or in Union Square North,
that is. In honor of World Elephant Day, a life-size ice sculpture of
an African elephant will be placed in this bustling corner of Manhattan
starting at 7 a.m., and it will stand in the summer heat for the entire
day. The piece is meant to draw attention to the dwindling population of
African elephants and is part of “Don’t Let Them Disappear,” an
awareness campaign by South African cream liqueur company Amarula and
conservation group WildlifeDirect. According to the group’s CEO, Dr.
Paula Kahumbu, there are approximately 400,000 African elephants left in
the world, and another is lost to poachers every 15 minutes.
[post_ads]To create the large-scale statement, titled “Disappearing Elephant,” Amarula is partnering with second-generation ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto, who has created frozen masterpieces for Zac Posen and Barneys New York. Okamoto will use approximately 85 blocks of ice to form the work, which will weigh in at about 18,000 pounds. The sculpting process will be done onsite and take approximately four hours.
The more than 30-year-old liqueur company has a longstanding relationship with the majestic creatures. Once a year, the elephants travel to the subequatorial plains of Africa to feast on the Marula tree's fruit, which is also used in the cream liqueur, and the elephants' arrival signals that the fruit is ready to be harvested.
While the sculpture will be gone by the end of the day on Saturday, Amarula and WildlifeDirect hope the message—and the species—will endure.
More from Architectural Digest
[post_ads]To create the large-scale statement, titled “Disappearing Elephant,” Amarula is partnering with second-generation ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto, who has created frozen masterpieces for Zac Posen and Barneys New York. Okamoto will use approximately 85 blocks of ice to form the work, which will weigh in at about 18,000 pounds. The sculpting process will be done onsite and take approximately four hours.
The more than 30-year-old liqueur company has a longstanding relationship with the majestic creatures. Once a year, the elephants travel to the subequatorial plains of Africa to feast on the Marula tree's fruit, which is also used in the cream liqueur, and the elephants' arrival signals that the fruit is ready to be harvested.
While the sculpture will be gone by the end of the day on Saturday, Amarula and WildlifeDirect hope the message—and the species—will endure.
More from Architectural Digest
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