The community recycling art project will be led by award-winning studio Lazerian
A phenomenal 25,000 plastic bottles are being collected and recycled to create a 32.5 x 26.5 metre angel in (you guessed it) Angel Meadow Park.
Led by Liam Hopkins of acclaimed design consultancy Lazerian, the quirky community recycling project will see Hopkins work with local schoolchildren to design and produce the dramatic sculpture - which will reside in the park for the duration of November and December.
Recycled plastic bottles will be collected by the children and by New Mount Street-based charity Moodswings, who are organising a series of litter picks at the park each Saturday in October (10am-1pm). Anyone wanting to get involved is welcome to join the picks or deposit bottles at the adjacent Co-operative building in One Angel Square.
By creating a piece of lasting artwork from everyday used objects, (children) will learn first-hand the critical role recycling plays in our environment and will have lots of fun in the process
Free art workshops in local schools, meanwhile, will offer pupils the chance to colour the bottles using paints donated by local manufacturer HMG Paints. The waterproof acrylics will feature a variety of shades, designed to enhance the visual appeal of Angel as she reclines on the undulating grass across the south side of the park. Schools wishing to sign up for the workshops can visit meadowlife@meadowside-manchester.com or call 07718 772 672.
Once the bottles are gathered, Hopkins and his skilled studio team will create Angel onsite through a combination of traditional handcraft techniques with computer-based modelling and pattern cuttings; a process expected to take three weeks.
Hopkins’ previous high-profile installations include the New Bailey polar bear and B.Eat Street dinosaur. Of Angel, he said: “As an artist I find strength and beauty in the lightest and most ubiquitous of materials and plastic bottles are exactly the sort of products that we want to work with in this multi-dimensional design. It is a true community effort bringing together the base materials through the local schools, the paint manufacturer and the charity to combine resources to create a thing of beauty."
Angel is funded by developer Far East Consortium (FEC) whose Mount Yard, due to complete in 2021, is one of four landmark residential developments at Angel Meadows’ new MeadowSide scheme. Also under construction at MeadowSide are The Gate and The Stile, offering 286 apartments and penthouses with 24-hour concierge, gym, private lounge, terrace, glass facades, public realm and commercial units on the ground floors. For more information, visit meadowside-manchester.com.
