Rich Tomasello is a multimedia artist and educator from Buffalo, New York, whose creations mostly revolve around ideas of violence and politicism in modern society.

One of his most recent projects, titled “Rhino World Order,” fits that description perfectly. The inspirations for this project stem from many different, seemingly random places, such as WWE wrestling, the U.S. government, and an obscure play from the late 1950s called “Rhinoceros,” written by Eugène Ionesco.

All these different ideas came together to create a fictional world about a dictatorship run by people with rhinoceros horns on their foreheads, who are willing to take out anybody who does not conform to their idea of what society should be like. It is eerily similar to real life dictatorships that have taken place throughout history.

On Friday, Sept. 5, a variety of events were hosted in Tyler Hall to celebrate the uniqueness of this collection, including a panel discussion with Rich Tomasello where he talked about his inspirations for his art and a script reading of “Rhinoceros,” performed by students in the Oswego theatre department.

At the panel, Tomasello recounted a traumatic event from his young adulthood, which has stuck with him to this day. He recalls how he was cornered by six large men because they thought he was weaker than them. Tomasello said that this event was the perfect display of toxic masculinity and he was thankful that his college years took place before the mainstream use of cell phones.

Nowadays, whenever somebody is getting hurt, people just want to record it and put it up on social media, rather than actually trying to help. This sad reality has weighed heavily on Tomasello’s psyche, making a big impact on the way he expresses himself through his art.

There were a few pieces in the gallery that clearly made reference to this traumatic event of his past.

One main idea to take away from this exhibition is our society’s need for more empathy, according to Tomasello. “Rhino World Order” shows how easily it seems people fall into propaganda and bullying. With the current world climate it is important to stand up for what you believe in and try to educate others on how they can be better, Tomasello said.

He believes in creating art out of empathy for people who have gone through traumatic events and wanting violence like this to stop.

“Rhino World Order” is open in Tyler Art Gallery until Oct. 8, 2025.