Gillie and Marc Schattner’s Rhinos Bump In

Early in the morning on 07 August this year, Gillie and Marc Schattner’s three bronze Run for your Life rhinos made their way from their storage safe haven to La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus. Our friends at Grace loaded the robust trio onto a bright red semi and then delivered them to La Trobe Centreway Lawn, ready for their permanent resting place next to LUMA: La Trobe University Museum of Art. Just looking at the three life-size rhinos on that truck, a sculpture that collectively weighs almost two and a half tons, was intimidating – how on earth were we to take them from the truck to their new grassy home? A crane was the answer, one with a super soft sling so as to protect our rhinos’ delicate hide. Once in transit from the truck to the installation site, you could be fooled into thinking that the sculptures were light as a feather, something an average person could carry like a suitcase perhaps – the process was that smooth. Each of the three rhinos plus a rumbling sound box was manoeuvred into place on a waiting concrete slab. We were careful to make sure that there was enough distance left between each rhino for you to walk amongst them – for you to to really be able to interact with and play with the sculptures when you visit La Trobe. The installation process would not have been such a success or nearly as much fun without the brilliant team at La Trobe University. Community Engagement Director, Susan Davies connected Wonderment Walk to a band of passionate and enthusiastic people on campus that were not afraid to get muddy in order to install these glorious creatures. Anthony Theunissen, Grounds Senior Coordinator and Michael Brennan, Acting Senior Curator, in particular, displayed great bravery when faced with the task of bumping in these beautiful beasts and were a true pleasure to work with. We can’t wait for Run for your Life to be officially unveiled this week on Thursday 24 September. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for updates on our next blog post. We’ll be speaking to contemporary Australian artists, Gillie and Marc, about the sculpture, allowing you insight into why and how they came to be. – Julia Mihai, Project Coordinator, Wonderment Walk Victoria