MILAN - A project that is unique in its kind, which will most likely be record-breaking, uniting love for art, the environment and people. At Keelung's Embrace Cultural Centre and Creative Park of Taipei, in Taiwan, a mosaic created with 4 million recycled plastic bottles was presented, depicting the famous "Starry night" by Van Gogh.
The work
Wan Cheng-wei, famous local sculptor and lecturer at the National Changhua University of Education, made the mosaic, which covers a surface of 53 hectares. The work is called "The Starry Paradise". The most difficult part was certainly sourcing the four million pieces that were gathered and donated by both local recycling centres and by individuals. Particularly the blue coloured bottles, which constitute the main colour of the original painting: scouting for the different tonalities proved tricky to say the least. A series of LED lights were then placed under the bottles which represent the stars of the original work, and they are lit at night, increasing the evocative nature of the mosaic.
Art, sustainability and personal care
Jeffrey Wang, spokesperson for the Park, declared: "The project focuses on the ideas of healing and art, which are true whether we speak of the environment or of people". The social aim of this initiative, which according to the organisers will be able to enter the Guinness book of Records, is made even more significant by the donation that the Park itself made to the Canlove Social Service Association, a body that takes care of people that suffer depression, to which a Taiwanese dollar was donated for every 10 bottles collected.
by editorial staff
