Installed in 2005 in the Italian Alps, Gelitin’s colossal pink rabbit was conceived to slowly decay — here’s its story, symbolism, and what remains today.

---

Perched on a hillside in Piedmont, Italy, lies a strange, giant, pink rabbit. Conceived by the Viennese collective Gelitin, the sculpture—called Hase / Rabbit / Coniglio—was launched in 2005 with a “built-to-bleed” spirit: it was designed to slowly unravel, rot, and return to the earth. Over two decades later, it has become a haunting monument to impermanence.

Conception & Installation

Gelitin spent roughly five years knitting the piece in secret, using soft, weather-resistant materials, and stuffing it with straw. When it was finally revealed, it stretched some 60 meters in length and reached 6 meters in height in some sections. It lay sprawled across Colletto Fava, a hill near Artesina, inviting hikers to climb it, lounge on it, and explore its sinuous form.

From its very conception, the rabbit was not meant to endure forever. The collective openly stated that the work would persist for about 20 years — a lifetime long enough for weather, sun, rain, wind, and biology to gnaw it piece by piece. 

Decay as a Statement

Unlike traditional sculptures built to last, Hase embraced deterioration. Its internal guts (wool ribs and straw) spilled out, while its pink fabric skin turned gray, mouldy, and ragged with time. Flora crept in, animals nested in it, and the mountain reclaimed sections of its limbs. 

Artists and critics say this decay is deliberate — a commentary on life, death, entropy, and the transient nature of all things. The sculpture becomes a shared ritual between building and decomposing, between human ambition and natural erosion. 

Lifecycle & Current State

Some observers claim that by 2016 the rabbit was already almost completely decomposed — only a ghostly outline remained. By the estimated “deadline” year of 2025, many expected no visible trace to remain. Yet satellite images and occasional reports suggest faint shapes, ghostly contours, or the memory of what once was. 

Legacy & Reflection

The giant pink rabbit is now more than an artwork — it’s a visual metaphor. It teaches that creation and destruction are inseparable. It questions the permanence we assume in monuments. It invites visitors not just to admire, but to reflect on decay, loss, and the passage of time.

In many ways, Hase survived its own demise: people still talk about it, trek to find remnants, photograph it, memorialize it. Its afterlife now lives in memory, archives, and the very idea that a sculpture can die beautifully.