This artwork is by Portugal-based artist Bordalo II. It is displayed on the wall of the Starving Artist Café in Moncton (Canada). It was made from a pile of trash that Bordalo gathered from around the city and from a recycle centre. Bordalo stated that: “This piece is part of a series of work that I call big trash animals. I’m making portraits and images of animals, or elements from the nature, with what’s killing it – contamination, pollution, trash and all this stuff. In this one here, I left the shell of the turtle not painted, with the original colour of the materials, so it’s easier to recognise what kind of trash is there” (Bordalo II in Letterick 2017).
I have chosen this artwork to display here because it demonstrates how recycling and repurposing materials to make art works can go beyond just recycling for functional purposes, such as creating decorative art and/or furniture (as I have done in my own art pieces), and can extend to creating art works that are not only recycled but that also send a powerful message.
Through leaving the contents of the shell unpainted and clearly displaying the types of trash that commonly go to waste, Bordalo sends an incredibly strong message about the destruction that trash can cause to sea life, encouraging viewers to think about the grave consequences that incorrectly disposing of plastics can cause, like killing species such as sea turtles that often die from strangulation as a result of encountering plastic waste in the ocean.
Reference:
Letterick, K 2017, ‘Art piece helps raise awareness of wood turtles as an at-risk species in Greater Moncton area’, CBC News, retrieved 11 August 2021,
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/festival-inspire-art-piece-artist-trash-animals-1.4203748
I have chosen this artwork to display here because it demonstrates how recycling and repurposing materials to make art works can go beyond just recycling for functional purposes, such as creating decorative art and/or furniture (as I have done in my own art pieces), and can extend to creating art works that are not only recycled but that also send a powerful message.
Through leaving the contents of the shell unpainted and clearly displaying the types of trash that commonly go to waste, Bordalo sends an incredibly strong message about the destruction that trash can cause to sea life, encouraging viewers to think about the grave consequences that incorrectly disposing of plastics can cause, like killing species such as sea turtles that often die from strangulation as a result of encountering plastic waste in the ocean.
Reference:
Letterick, K 2017, ‘Art piece helps raise awareness of wood turtles as an at-risk species in Greater Moncton area’, CBC News, retrieved 11 August 2021,
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/festival-inspire-art-piece-artist-trash-animals-1.4203748