IF YOU FIND yourself on George’s Quay in Dublin today, make sure to look up and see this brilliant new piece of street art.
Portuguese artist Artur Bordalo (AKA Bordalo II) has travelled the world building ‘Trash Animals’ out of rubbish, and yesterday, his latest sculpture was unveiled on George’s Quay.
This massive red squirrel now sits proudly on the side of The Workshop pub:
The squirrel took around five days to build, with the base assembled out of car parts, bike wheels, and plastic barriers before being painted over.
So why rubbish? Bordalo says it’s a matter of “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”:
With the production of things at its highest, the production of ‘waste’ and unused objects is also at its highest. I create, recreate, assemble and develop ideas with end-of-life material, and try and relate it to sustainability, ecological and social awareness.
He chose the red squirrel as the focus of his installation in Dublin due to its endangered status – previously, he’s constructed manatees, foxes, and opossums.
Irish filmmakers Trevor Whelan and Rua Meegan have been following the artist for two years – their documentary about the project, A Life Of Waste, will debut later this year.
You can see more of Bordalo’s work on his Instagram here.
