Students present a spectacular recycling art showcase at Town Hall

8 Nov 2018 09:56

An incredible showcase of art and fashion made from rubbish was showcased by talented Bolton students.

Art students from the University of Bolton and Bolton College worked with Bolton Council’s Waste and Recycling team to inspire people to recycle clothing and reusable items rather than throw them away.

The ‘ReClaim, ReWork, ReUse’ project, sponsored by Bolton Council, featured around 200 pieces of students’ work made from discarded plastic, cardboard and carrier bags, amongst the waste material.

The exhibition was displayed in The Festival Hall in Bolton Town Hall on Monday, November 5.

The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Elaine Sherrington, Acting Principal of Bolton College Bill Webster and Head of the School of The Arts at the University of Bolton, Sam Johnson, judged the exhibits.

After much deliberation, the winning piece was a poncho made entirely of plastic carrier bags, which had been painstaking crocheted by student Annabelle Totty.

Annabelle, aged 45, said the hard work had been cutting up all the bags to create the plastic yarn to crochet.

She said: “The inspiration for this was when I lived in Swaziland where my dad was helping to build a power station.

“One girl would make things from plastic bags and I would cut them all up for her so she could use the plastic to crochet whatever item she was making.

“I can’t believe I have won – I am delighted.”

Art and Design students worked on three mini projects. The first, ‘Lost Cities’, created buildings out of cardboard, in the second they worked with artist and tutor Liam Ainscough to produce ‘Junk Sculptures’ and the third was a group installation using fabric to create eye-catching clothing.

Bolton College students produced body adornments using materials provided by the council, including old vinyls, wires and household rubbish which cannot be recycled and are impacting the environment.

Around 160 young adults from the University and College, which merged on August 1 this year, took part.

Bolton Council’s Recycling Officers visited University and College campuses to talk about the importance of recycling.

Cllr Nick Peel, Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Environmental Services, also attended the exhibition.

He said: “The students have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into this and the imagination displayed here today is wonderful.

“It also raises awareness about the importance of recycling and is part of our aim that we should get away from the idea of being a throwaway society.”

Second and third places went to Bolton College student Blue Stone – he made a papier mache dress – and University student Luciana Evans, for her tree made of copper wire.

A total of £101 was raised from ticket sales for the Mayor of Bolton’s charities.

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