Itamar Gov's most recent work, The Last Surviving Northern White Rhinoceros, was created as part of the Palermo Living Pavilion, in collaboration with Room to Bloom, Studio Rizoma and European Alternatives. It is dedicated to endangered animal species: of the more than 120 species of rhinoceros that have existed on earth, five remain today. The northern white rhinoceros is on the verge of disappearing, with only two individuals still alive - a mother and a daughter - who will inevitably become extinct. Installed in Palazzo Butera, in the historical centre of Palermo, the work is a sculptural and sound installation consisting of a wooden box measuring 4x2x2 metres.
Contemplating Western traditions of exploitation, supremacy and entertainment, The Last Surviving Northern White Rhinoceros invites visitors to line up to look into the crate through a small peephole and listen to the heavy breathing and confused moaning of the unique beast vibrating from inside the crate - promising an exclusive and privileged opportunity to catch a glimpse of the living-dead animal before it leaves our world forever.
.jpg)
Itamar Gov (*1989) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice consists of sculptural and spatial installations, as well as graphic and video works. Addressing the intricate relations between history, ideology and aesthetics, his projects explore various forms of personal, collective and institutional memory. Since 2010 he has been living in Berlin, Paris and Bologna, where he studied cinema, history and literature.