Fire Fire Rhino: A Creative Uprising to Burn the Myths Fuelling Rhino Extinction
Posted on: 16 July 2025Written by: Newmark Hotels & Reserves
Fire Fire Rhino, launched in July 2025 by the non-profit movement Rhino Disharmony, is a striking visual campaign that fuses fashion, film, photography and fire to challenge one of the most dangerous beliefs threatening Africa’s rhino population: the idea that rhino horn holds medicinal or mystical power.
Shot on location at Motswari Private Game Reserve over the course of three days, the campaign brings together an all-female creative team including photographer Sara Wilson, stylist Carolin Herling and designer Andrea Zuckerman, among others. Models walk through scorched earth in ash-toned couture; flames rise, not in destruction, but in transformation. At its core, the campaign is about burning the myths that fuel the trade and sparking a cultural reckoning through art — a peaceful counterforce to the violence of poaching. Rhino horn is made of keratin, no more valuable than hair or fingernails.
“Art has the power to move the heart — and when an emotional chord is struck, it can be more powerful than written facts and figures,” says Marion Geiger, artist and founder of Rhino Disharmony.
South Africa is home to more than half of Africa’s remaining 23,000 rhinos and close to 80% of the world’s population. Yet Kruger National Park alone has lost nearly 80% of its rhino population since 2014. Despite ongoing conservation efforts, demand for rhino horn — particularly in parts of Asia — continues to fuel the trade and empower organised poaching syndicates. Fire Fire Rhino targets the root of the issue: not the poachers themselves, but the cultural myths and narratives that sustain demand.
“Extinction is not inevitable — it’s a choice made every time myths go unchallenged,”
reads the campaign’s creative statement. “We’re calling on media, artists, influencers and global citizens to share this, amplify it, and help dismantle the narratives that threaten one of Earth’s most iconic animals.”
Fire Fire Rhino follows in the legacy of Rhino Disharmony’s work: harnessing art, fashion, and creative collaboration to reach audiences that data alone cannot move. This work builds on past projects such as collaborations with Lalela, where under-resourced youth designed conservation-inspired art pieces, and educational programs that tackle rhino horn demand directly at its cultural roots. In doing so, Fire Fire Rhino becomes part of a growing global movement recognising that saving species requires reshaping narratives.
Join the movement. Share the story. Challenge the myths. Follow the campaign on social media @rhinodisharmony #FireFireRhino.
