Rhino Extinctico

( Size: 24" x 36" Oils )

This painting portrays the vicious circle encompassing the inane, mindless slaughter of Rhinos of Africa and Asia. From the hunters and killers, to the middle men who broker the horn, then onward to the shallow minded men who desire these objects.

Subjects in the painting:

The Horn

Becomes a commodity, coveted, used for potions and aphrodisiacs, superstitious nonsense pertaining to virility, not forgetting the obsessed, they who need to have it because of its rarity. "EVIL" is at work here ! Mindless acts of inhumanity toward a fellow creature.

The Tree

Has only two leaves one for "Good" and one for "Bad", or right and wrong, black or white (colour of Rhinos).

The Apple

Is the fruit of the tree, it is synonymous with the birthplace of sin, Christian beliefs, suffering and free will. The people in the above scenario cannot believe in the teachings of any religious order. They are devoid of "Good" awash with evil intent.

The Bowler Hat

Represents bureaucracy, corruption, blinkered governments, dual standards. The outflow of "Dice" from the pipe depicts evil, double dealing, deception, chance and blood money. We should look and take a leaf out of the religious Indian sect of "Jainism". The "Jains" are an offshoot of Hinduism developing in the 6th. century BCE. "Jains" believe that the worst act a person can commit is to take any form of life. They teach that salvation depends on rigid self effort and non-violence toward all living creatures.

The Banana Skin

Hanging limp from the tree represents unless we provide a world wide ban on killing Rhinos, they will become "Extinct" within our children's lifetime. There are two species of Rhino in Africa and several species in Asia. They have a "Horn", sometimes two over the snout composed of modified hair.

Numbers of African Black Rhinos have fallen from 100,000 in 1962 to less than 4,000 in 1990.

Most of the species are leaf eaters, but the largest species the White Rhino of South Africa is a grazer. They are related to the "Tapir" and the "Horse"..

Family: RHINOCEROTIDAE.

E.W.Powell 14.7.98. Painting completed 28/2/1992

Complexity comment:
Black or White, head down, unseeing, the unthinking and sure charge of the man of prejudice echos across the world... Since Aristotle, the idea that truth and falsity are opposites, and cannot be reconciled, has fuelled man's discord and intolerance. Yet both positions are myths. Just the far ends of a continuum of truth values that occupies the entire spectrum from 0 (100% false) to 1 (100% true). Fuzzy Logic extends Aristotelian Logic to encompass the full meaning of truth, showing us the futility of arbitrary divisions into Right and Wrong. Even that arch bastion of two state logic (the on/off binary computer) is falling to the many advantages of the new multi-state logic.
In Complex Systems (and Life is one), the concept of probability takes precedence over exactitude. Many systems have multiple alternative states, not just two, and thus we must give the likelihood of them being found in a desired state. Even for a simple coin toss we cannot pre-judge the outcome, so how much harder then for us to judge human acts in advance ?
Our brains categorize easily, but do so on a probabilistic basis - is a flat topped, four legged object a table ? Almost certainly yes, but it could be a stool ! Truth and Falsity are contextual, we need to know the circumstances in order to be sure. Evolutionary decisions are based on circumstances, yet what is 'right' at one time may be the completely 'wrong' thing to do in other circumstances. As they say in the financial press :-
"History is not necessarily a guide to future performance..."

Correct recognition has a fitness advantage, but getting it wrong can prove fatal. Death is final, there is no second chance - are you so sure now of your position that you will take that KILLING step lightly ?