Chester Zoo will host an exhibition featuring giant interactive works of art made from waste and trash. It’s being unveiled as the world-renowned zoo celebrates its 90th anniversary as a leading wildlife charity.
Love it for Longer, which runs at Chester Zoo from 11 June until mid-October, features eight huge installations created by six different artists, each formed from discarded plastic rubbish, old fabrics, unwanted technology, rainwater and even animal dung.
The exhibition is the first of its kind to be staged in the U.K., which encourages audiences to make environmentally-friendly choice thanks to the sculptures. The zoo conservationists and artists behind the sculptures say they have never seen anything like it.
It will promote sustainable social and environmental practices across all aspects of daily life and strive to show how the world can become a waste-free zone if people work together.
The art consists of, among other things, a 20-foot-long chameleon made from recycled shampoo bottles, a sculpture that turns rainwater into music and a maze made from unwanted fabrics that will highlight how waste streams harm the natural world and inspire conversation and positive action.
Dom Strange, Director of Operations at Chester Zoo, said:
“It’s fair to say that Chester Zoo’s new exhibition is total, utter trash – quite literally! Love it for Longer is sustainability spectacular and the first time these incredible installations, all made from different forms of rubbish and waste, have been seen together, anywhere on the planet.
“As a leading conservation charity, we need to make a significant contribution to reducing waste and inspire others to do the same. So, we’ve now committed to working towards becoming a zero-waste zoo by 2030. It’s by no means going to be easy and we’ve lots to learn ourselves, but our ambition is that in 10 years’ time we want to reuse, repurpose, recycle or compost as much of the materials that we use here at the zoo, to further protect the environment.
“What we very much want this bold, new exhibition to do is start a conversation about all of the things we throw away and inspire anyone who sees it to join the zoo on our journey to zero waste. I’m sure visitors to the exhibition will have loads of fantastic ideas that they can share both with us and others, which will make a massive difference here at the zoo and in people’s day-to-day lives at home.”
Rowan Cannon and Sarah Bird, directors at award-winning outdoor arts organisation Wild Rumpus who are producing the event in partnership with Chester Zoo, said
“We’re surrounded by rubbish and waste – it’s everywhere! Love it for Longer looks at sustainability across all facets of our day-to-day. Wild Rumpus wants to change the world from the bottom up, from poo to plastics, food to fabric waste, energy to electronic devices. Working with some amazing artists and makers, zoo audiences are invited to join us on a transformational journey towards a more sustainable future. Love it for Longer audiences will be empowered to make more sustainable choices in their everyday lives in a fun and engaging way.”
Love it for Longer is being created by Wild Rumpus, the social enterprise that has worked with Chester Zoo on its wintertime event, The Lanterns, since 2017.
Most of the materials used in the making of the exhibition are reused or recycled objects that would usually have been thrown away and, when it leaves the zoo in October, it will be installed elsewhere in the county to enable other people to see it.
Love it for Longer is free with normal zoo admission. For more on the exhibition, and to book zoo tickets, visit: www.chesterzoo.org/loveitforlonger
