BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
“Big Trash Animal” is the name of this series of installations for the UpNorth Festival by Portuguese Street Artist Bordalo II, here in a seaside city in the northern sector of Norway called Bodø.
The artist has been using his recycled sculptures as commentary on a modern culture of consumerism (and its deleterious effect on ecological matters) for the last decade or so, which great success.
His animals are a marvel in their likenesses; his talents for evoking their character by sculpting with people’s detritus are unrivaled. The connection he makes is between mindless garbage-making and the lives of animals. It’s a powerful one, a testament to the potential role of the Street Artist as a mindful citizen who contributes to the greater good.
Last autumn he researched, collected materials, and methodically created 12 of these animals for a recycling company rooted to this seaside town of 50,000 which boasts the Norwegian Aviation Museum. In the case of this region, bringing Bordalo II is not simply to “artwash” a brand or city, as some companies and municipalities try to do.
According to UpNorth Festival organizers the region has laser-focused their attention on recycling – reportedly planning to reach the European Union’s target for recycling 65% of municipal waste by this year, about 10 years ahead of schedule.
Reading a press release from the events, it looks like the people of nearby Salten took it upon themselves to clear coastal waters of pollution a couple of years ago. “In 2017 they placed 50 tons of marine litter in front of the public library in Stormen.” The marine litter was collected as a stunt to motivate the community and show them that collecting litter is of great value.
Bordalo II has now given them additional ideas for what to do with it.
