Red for Black

The Helmeted Hornbill is a bird species native to the lowland tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. It is threatened with extinction due to illegal poaching and habitat loss. The bird is hunted primarily for its solid casque, a unique part of its skull known as ‘red ivory’. Unlike other hollow hornbills, whose casques are hollow, the helmeted one is dense and ivory-like, making it ideal for carving into ornaments, jewellery, and luxury items. This red ivory has been highly valued in China and parts of Southeast Asia for centuries, and it is traditionally used for decorative purposes and status symbols.

As restrictions on ‘red ivory’ have increased, demand for red ivory has grown within the black market, driving up its value and intensifying poaching pressure. Hunters kill the bird, remove the head to extract the casque, and often discard the rest of the body. These parts are then smuggled through illegal trade networks, frequently concealed in luggage and shipped to buyers through international airports.
In addition to its casque, the helmeted hornbill is sometimes hunted for its tail feathers or meat, but these are secondary to the high-value trade in red ivory. The result has been devastating: the species has suffered drastic population declines and is now listed as Critically Endangered. Conservationists fear that, without urgent international protection and enforcement, the helmeted hornbill could be driven to extinction in the wild.

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Red in the title refers to the casque’s nickname, ‘Red Ivory,’ and the blood shed for it, the bird’s death for some carvable material. Black refers to the black market, the illegal trade of the hornbill ivory. The luggage tag marks CGK - SZX. CGK is short for the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, a major airport that is being used to smuggle Helmeted Hornbill casques out of Indonesia. SZX stands for the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport; Shenzhen, alongside Hong Kong, has the highest number of illegal Helmeted Hornbill imports, connecting Indonesia with mainland China.

A Helmeted Hornbill skull breaks through a suitcase, symbolically ‘pecking’ its way out, an unsettling reveal alluding to the illegal trafficking of ‘red ivory’, primarily through airports. The battered, dark case notes to the black market and the long history of wildlife smuggling. Inside, the full skull rests against rich purple velvet, traditionally associated with aristocracy, luxury, and power, underscoring the high value placed on ‘red ivory’.
Garnet beads connect the two halves of the luggage, allowing them to be assembled and disassembled; the piece can be worn as a mini handbag, referencing how hornbill parts are mainly smuggled in bags. The garnets evoke both the deep red of ‘red ivory’ and the bloodshed behind its trade. Yet, they also serve as a symbol of resilience, offering a sense of hope and strength in the effort to protect the Helmeted Hornbill from extinction.