Watch out, North America: Australian artist Amanda Parer will release a series of five massive, internally illuminated bunnies on a tour spanning San Francisco, Toronto, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, and Memphis. The public art installation, titled Intrude, has previously been displayed in Sydney, London, Perth, Paris, and elsewhere.

The rabbits will touch down in Toronto on March 14 and wrap up their whirlwind expedition in Denver on June 26. They will be stationed at New York’s recently-opened Brookfield Place (erstwhile home to one of the most disappointing art installations-cum-advertisements in history) from April 17–30.

Amanda Parer, Intrude.  
Photo: Amanda Parer.

Viewed as an invasive pest akin to rats in Parer’s native Australia, rabbits have caused major imbalance to the country’s ecosystem since they were brought over by European colonists in 1788. The artist therefore views them as symbols of the fragility and importance of the natural world, and hopes they will help spawn a dialogue about environmental conservation.

“I expect people will be drawn to the rabbits’ playful appearance, and I hope they will also take the time to understand the deeper meaning in the work and discuss how our actions impact the natural world in which we all live,” Parer said in a statement.

Amanda Parer, Intrude. 
Photo: Amanda Parer.

The sculptures, made of inflated nylon, are presented in part by Arts Brookfield, and they will be shown outside Brookfield Place locations in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, and Denver. For each of the Brookfield locations, two additional, larger rabbits have been commissioned and will tower above the original five.

We predict a large fanbase for the glowing critters—after all, big, inflatable animals have quite a colorful history in public art. First, there was Florentijn Hofman’s world-traveling rubber duck (and its subsequent knockoff), then there was the big pink kitty, another big kitty that had lasers growing out of its head, the Australian sea turtle, the toad that got censored by the Chinese government, and, er, that one giant rabbit that caught on fire. Here’s to hoping these bunnies meet a much less macabre fate.

Amanda Parer, Intrude.
Photo: Amanda Parer.