At DTM Skips we are passionate about recycling. This is why we make such a big deal about ensuring that we sort through rubbish, looking for recyclable materials, once we collect our skips from you. What impresses us, is when people go out of their way to be creative with different, unusual and recyclable materials. Making a statement, whether it be on water pollution or simply showing the world that junk art does exist with their recycled art projects.
This is why we are informing you of our five favourite pieces of artwork that have stood out the most to us and that either make a statement or help the environment that were created by artists that use recycled materials.
What Is Recycled Art
We’ve written about art being found in skips, along with other weird things found in skips.
Recycled artists, and recycled art in general are something else altogether.
Simply put, if you combine a used object that no longer has any use with other objects of a similar nature you have recycled art.
When you combine these objects, you give them a new use or create a beautiful junk sculpture for people to admire.
Kyle Bean – What Came First? A Sculpture Of Recycled Materials
We have all wondered the question “what came first, the chicken or the egg?”.
Clearly this has been a question which also fascinated Kyle Bean since he created a sculpture out of egg shells, which was titled What Came First?
We love this piece of recycled art as it looks absolutely amazing and he has created art using recycled textile materials that you would never consider making art from.
Jane Perkins – Girl With The Pearl Ear Ring
Meanwhile, Jane Perkins does a fantastic job of replicating famous paintings or pictures of famous people.
Through the use of random household items that she finds, such as buttons, shells and springs the recycling artist creates unique takes on fame and fortune.
While focusing on the artist’s brush strokes, the colours they use and the effect that is given to the painting, she accordingly creates her artwork with items that are no longer needed.
Jane Perkins mainly focuses on recycled crafts, having appeared on a TV series on recycled crafts for kids, encouraging them to reuse recyclable items.
One of her most popular pieces of work that she has recreated is the Girl with the Pearl Earring.
She has also created many other pieces of artwork such as a replica of the Mona Lisa which takes part in her “Plastic Classics” collection.
Andrew Chase – Dinosaur
This particular artist creates scrap metal sculptures, while also being a talented photographer, furniture maker and welder.
Andrew Chase‘s pieces of art are all animal sculptures and are quite simply named after the animal they are modelled from.
One of my favourites would have to be Dinosaur.
The pictures he has taken of this sculpture are absolutely eye-catching and amazing to view.
I’m sure we can all agree that we would love one of these recycled products to use as eye-catching metal garden sculptures for friends and family to envy.
Jason DeCaires Taylor – Environmentally Friendly Sculptures
The environment is clearly something that Jason deCaires Taylor cares about, when you take a single look at his artwork and the locations they are set in.
All of Jason’s work, once complete is lowered carefully down into the sea and they are all made out of environmentally friendly materials.
Jason’s work may not specifically be made from recycled materials, they are made and set in specific locations so that they can work as artificial reefs in order to help the sea life.
One of my favourite pieces of his artwork is Ocean Atlas.
Jason teamed up with BREEF so that his piece of artwork could bring environmental issues to attention, such as water pollution, since this is exactly what his sculpture was representative of:
of the future generations having to live with the pollution and problems that the past generations could have done more to fix.
This structure was built up in stages so that when it was set down in the sea, they could lower it layer by layer.
This sculpture is located in the Bahamas.
Mystery Artist at UN Conference – Plastic Bottle Fish Sculpture
One of the most interesting pieces of work I found was the Plastic Bottle Fish Sculpture, of three giant fish located on Botafogo Beach in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
These fish are made from plastic bottles and the recycling project was built to make a statement on sea pollution due to all of the plastic pollution in the ocean.
So that the message was clearly demonstrated to any passers-by, a sign was put up next to the giant fish sculptures, which says in Portuguese “recycle your attitude“.
There are many artists that use recycled materials and while this form of recycled crafts benefit the environment, the recycled materials also assist in giving the artwork a different appearance and effect.
Helping The Environment With Household Recycling
Every little bit that you do in order to help the environment, from growing your own fruit and veg, down to recycling and composting all adds up, helping the environment.
You can get creative, recycled art can be a family activity, recycling for kids doesn’t have to be boring.
Do your bit today. Reduce, reuse and recycle!