News / Arts
Life-size whale revised to just head and tail
It was meant to be a life-size sculpture of a blue whale – one of the most striking public artworks promised during Bristol’s year as European Green Capital.
But the grand plans have fallen short – almost 15 metres short to be precise – after it was decided the full-size whale “was not going to be sustainable or practical”, Bristol Green Capital have said.
The project led by Artists Project Earth (APE) originally promised a 30 metre, immersive walk-through exhibition.
APE posted on their website last year: “Inside the whale, visitors will be immersed in an array of inspirational audio-visual exhibits that evoke the immense beauty as well as the fragility of the world’s oceans, including the impacts that climate change and human activity inflicts.”
Instead, a 5.5 metre “diving” tail of a blue whale and 10 metre “emerging” head of a humpback whale will be created out of willow grown on the Somerset Levels, surrounded by a sea of plastic bottles.
“We’re creating an ocean of plastics, and the bottles are being donated to us from the Bristol 10k marathon,” said Sue Lipscombe from Cod Steaks, the company commissioned to make the sculpture.
The wicker whales will be installed in Millennium Square in the summer.
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