Mexico City, Apr 20 (EFE).- More flowers than usual could be seen at the Mexican capital’s Chapultepec park on Friday, yet these new flowers were constructed by Danish artist Thomas Dambo using waste materials with the goal of raising awareness about the importance of recycling.
Dambo, who was invited by Mexico City’s government to carry out the project for the “Festival of Flowers and Gardens”, gathered various types of plastic waste to construct colorful sculptures that emulate flowers and plants, in an effort to show that garbage has value and can even be “funny and also beautiful,” the artist told EFE.
“I hope that they can see that trash can be funny and also beautiful, so trash is not seen as something disgusting … but that trash can have value,” Dambo said.
According to the artist, changing people’s mindsets is crucial as the planet risks collapsing due to the high levels of pollution and waste that are poured into the environment every day.
“If we continue living like this … in the end there will be no more Mexico. There will only be one big piece of trash and all the people will live on top,” he said.
The artist’s hopes of changing people’s mindsets will be put to the test starting Friday, when visitors to Mexico City’s largest park will be able to contemplate this thought-provoking plastic Eden.
Dambo received the help of 1,200 people to carry out the project, including 800 college students from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), primary school students and senior citizens.
According to Dambo, getting children – “the grownups of tomorrow” – involved in the construction of the sculptures will help them appreciate that garbage can be fun and that it is crucial to pay attention to it to help forge a less polluted world.