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12 Eco-friendly Sculptures That Will Amaze You

Artists all over are bringing the most pressing issues to the fore. If the reports from all over the world are right, we are marching towards a very bleak future. To avert it, we need to start preserving the environment. Even our day to day activities have a considerable impact. The paper that we use comes out of trees, the plastic that we throw literally stays there forever, etc. It might seem that all this won’t affect us, but no, it is affecting us right now and would do so even in the future. To bring these issues into our conscience, artists worldwide are creating eco-friendly sculptures.

12 Eco-friendly Sculptures That Will Amaze You

Over the past few years, eco-friendly art has grown considerably. People are making a number of efforts to increase the awareness of key issues regarding the community and environmental impact among the masses. Public art installations and sculptures are becoming a part of these efforts. With these, artists are opening the eyes of the people to global issues like pollution, deforestation, global warming etc. via innovative ways. Here are 12 such eco-friendly sculptures with a larger mission that will simply blow you away.

1. The Blue Tree Project by Konstantin Demopoulos

Image Source : greenscapeofjacksonville.com

The Blue Tree Project lies along the highway to Houston. It is very hard to miss owing to the bright blue trunks of clusters of trees located here. These are in fact, not real trees but are part of a public art installation. They are there to call the attention of people to deforestation. Moreover, they also focus on the need to protect native trees from large scale deforestation as well as changing weather patterns.

2. Reading Nest by Mark Reigelman

Image Source : libraryasincubatorproject.org

The giant bird’s nest sitting right outside the Cleveland Public Library will surely amaze you. Constructed using over 10000 discarded wooden palette boards, the giant nest sculpture is painted gold and pays ode to the tree of knowledge as well as the community and the sharing of knowledge.

3. Cluster by Guerra de la Paz

Image Source : frameweb.com

The Cluster is a public art installation that aims to shed some much needed light on issues like consumption, consumerism and unnecessary waste. Built out of innumerable plastic water bottles as well as bottle caps, the sculpture intends to spread the message of damaging effects of over-consumption on the environment.

4. Newspaper Sculptures by Nick Georgiou

Newspaper Sculptures by Nick GeorgiouImage Source : collabcubed.files

Tons of newspapers end up in waste bins on a daily basis. Newspaper sculptor Nick Georgiou decided to put these discarded newspapers to good use by transforming them into intricate artwork. He rolls them, twists them and scrunches them to form unique 3 dimensional art sculptures that are truly one of a kind.

5. Recycled Shadow Art by Meva

Image Source : mymodernmet.com

The Recycled Shadow Art installation features a suspended sculpture which is made entirely out of newspapers and a nylon mesh. The newspapers are folded to resemble a pattern of small windmills which cast a striking shadow on the floor when the sun shines on them. The installation also comes with a soothing rhythm when the wind blows through it.

6. Upcycled Steampunk Sculptures by Michael Ulman

Image Source : cdn.trendhunterstatic.com

The Gone Postal exhibit by this artist features a very unique collection of awesome steampunk designs. Paying an ode to found material art, the artist has made use of all kinds of parts salvaged from garbage dumpsters and junk yards. As intriguing as the items are, finding out the original purpose of the individual parts that make them is more intriguing.

7. Bottle Sea Creature Art

Bottle Sea Creature ArtImage Source : cdn.trendhunterstatic.com

Built on the Botafogo Beach in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, the Bottle Sea Creature Art is a collection of giant fish sculptures made out of abandoned plastic bottles. Unique and mesmerizing, the fish sculptures look as if the fish were coming out of the sand itself. As part of a promotion for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, the exhibit aimed to send out a message about being environmentally conscious about marine life on earth.

8. Shimmering Junk Sculptures

Image Source : media.treehugger.com

What makes Vik Muniz’s junk sculptures mesmerizing and iconic is the way the artist beautifully renders animal imagery using coins, coils, car doors and more scrap metal. Featuring a golden palette which sets them apart, the collages look magical and showcase a great way to reuse scrap metal that will otherwise end up in the junkyard.

9. The Book’s Story by Cara Barer

Image Source : designdo.se

Have a lot of old books, magazines and computer programming manuals that you don’t want anymore? Simply send them over to Cara Barer who will upcycle them into very creative art pieces. Her ‘The Book’s Story’ is one such creation that can leave you amazed at how something old and no longer needed can be transformed into something so beautiful.

10. Ceramic Sculptures by Nuala O’ Donovan

Image Source : thisiscolossal.com

In a world overridden with technological replacements, there are still some artists like Nuala O’ Donovan who prefer handmade art. Inspired by nature, her ceramic sculpture collection features intricately designed flowers, snowflakes, radiolarian and cones, etc.

11. Whirlpool of Creatures from Richard Howie School

Whirlpool of Creatures from Richard Howie SchoolImage Source : cdn.trendhunterstatic.com

The sculpture by the Richard Howie School was inspired by oceanic forms and patterns. Featuring a shoal of silver fish that are designed in such a way to reflect them swimming in the open ocean, the sculpture is placed on a beach with the open sea and the blue sky acting as the perfect backdrop.

12. 500 Santa Claus sculptures

With numerous global awards to his name, Sudarshan Pattnaik is the greatest sand artist who amazed us all by creating 100 Santa Claus sculptures in 2009. This unparalleled feat of sand artistry earned him a spot in the Limca Book of World Records. However, this time, he has created 500 Santa sculptures on a beach in Puri, Odisha, India. For creating the gigantic art installation, the artist availed the services of his 30 students. The team worked for four days to complete the installation which further required 5,000 tons of sand.

The current installation also features an even bigger sand sculpture of Jesus. It further carries a slogan: Go green, save earth”.  Needless to say, Pattnaik’s sand art requires precision and patience, which is so very visible through the installation he has created for Christmas.

Earlier, Pattnaik has come up with numerous sand sculptures to raise awareness of issues like endangered species and AIDs. The current installation, however, is a strong statement on global warming and consequent rise in sea level.

Summary

A lot of artists around the world have started showcasing eco-friendly sculptures in public places. These public art installations aim to increase environmental awareness among people and encourage them to lead greener lifestyles.

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