SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 - BOSTON, MA. In collaboration with the City of Chelsea, the global animal welfare organization, FOUR PAWS, has installed a sculpture named “Madhubala” at Chelsea City Hall. The artwork aims to bring an elephant-size message of hope and coexistence to Massachusetts and beyond.

The sculpture will officially be unveiled on Friday, October 3, 1:00 – 3:00 PM, in celebration of World Animal Day (October 4) and will remain on display through the holidays. Chelsea City Manager, Fidel Maltez explained, “The City of Chelsea is proud to welcome this inspiring work of art and the powerful message it carries. Celebrating resilience, hope, and coexistence is deeply meaningful to our community.”

The sculpture had previously toured the United States with The Great Elephant Migration, a travelling art experience comprised of 100 life-sized elephant statues. The exhibition visited cities including Newport, New York City, Miami Beach, Houston, Jackson Hole, and Los Angeles throughout 2024 and 2025. Award-winning photojournalist, filmmaker, and conservationist Ami Vitale joined FOUR PAWS as an honorary “Matriarch” during the migration, helping FOUR PAWS highlight the plight and suffering of wild animals in captivity and the work to protect them. FOUR PAWS’s Boston-based office named the sculpture Madhubala after a real-world captive elephant in Pakistan who the organization rescued in 2024. 

The real Madhubala’s story begins over two decades ago. Captured from the wild at a young age, four African elephants named Madhubala, Noor Jehan, Sonia and Malika, were taken to Pakistan in 2009. Madhubala and Noor Jehan were brought to Karachi Zoo. In November 2021, FOUR PAWS was asked to assess the well-being of the four elephants. Following the death of Noor Jehan, Madhubala became the last captive African elephant in a Pakistani zoo. She suffered in isolation and heartbreakingly, she resorted to carrying an old truck tire as a make-shift comfort blanket. In November of 2024, after 15 years separated from her siblings, FOUR PAWS was finally able to transfer Madhubala and reunite her with her sisters, Malika and Sonia.

Katherine Miller, Director at FOUR PAWS’ Boston office, explained, “Following the Great Elephant Migration, we are excited to partner with our Boston office’s neighbor, the City of Chelsea, to share the story of Madhubala the elephant through her awe inspiring, sustainably crafted sculpture. A symbol of human-wildlife coexistence and the social bonds that are so important for these gentle giants, Madhubala’s years of loneliness and isolation ended thanks to the persistent efforts of FOUR PAWS in collaboration with local authorities. Reuniting Madhubala with her family in improved conditions was the right thing to do, and the happier ending every captive elephant deserves." 

FOUR PAWS continues to promote the Madhubala sculpture through a collaboration with MvVO ART, a prominent New York–based contemporary art platform, presenting the sculpture on their Artsy gallery, accessible via www.mvvoart.com. The goal is to find a permanent home for the Madhubala sculpture, with one hundred percent of proceeds supporting FOUR PAWS’s mission to protect and rescue captive wild animals like Madhubala around the world.

“MvVO ART is proud to collaborate with FOUR PAWS by presenting the Madhubala sculpture on our Artsy gallery, uniting contemporary art with a powerful mission to protect and rescue animals,” said Maria van Vlodrop, CEO & Founder, MvVO ART.

About the Sculpture

Dimensions: 7.5’ x 12’ x 4’. Materials: Lantana camara and Steel. Weight:  Approximately 660 lbs. Crafted by the Real Elephant Collective, a community of Indigenous artisans from India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the Madhubala sculpture is made from dried Lantana camara, an invasive plant species overtaking elephant habitats in India. The Great Elephant Migration removes the weed and converts what isn’t used for art into a fertilizing product called biochar, actively improving elephant lands and mitigating climate change through carbon sequestering, boosted soil fertility, and forest restoration. The initiative aims to sequester 2,625 tons of carbon by the end of 2025. For more information, visit the sculpture's viewing room on Artsy.com.