From Trash To Treasure: Maltese Artist Remoulds 4,000 Plastic Bottles Into Jesus Replica At Ta’ Pinu
Maltese artist Joseph Barbara has unveiled a rather astonishing piece of work at Gozo’s famous Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary grounds.
Barbara used 4,000 single-use plastic bottles, recycled by residents or collected in clean-up activists, to create a replica of Christ, and the result is something to behold.
This artwork was organised by the Cast-Out project, an initiative founded by Joanne Curtis to incentivise people to collect waste by making them feel a part of the final result.
“When headlines declared Malta was the EU’s worst country for recycling, it forced us to act,” their website states. “When you are at the bottom, the only way is up. If people in the worst country rally together, clean up and create something awesome to help reduce plastic pollution, we can inspire other countries to take action too.”
The art installation will be on show for three months and is being funded by the Ministry for Gozo, supported by the European Parliament Liaison Office in Malta, the Queen Mary University of London Malta Campus, and the Melita Foundation among others.
“The European Parliament Office in Malta has endorsed the Cast-Out Project because it reflects two elements which the European Parliament holds dear: a community spirit and the commitment towards a better environment,” Mario Sammut, Head of the European Parliament’s Office in Malta, said when inaugurating the artwork.
As part of the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the EU recently banned certain single-use plastic items from being placed on member states’ markets and introduced new marking requirements for products.
It is also updating its waste management legislation to promote a more sustainable way of production and consumption, tighten recycling rules and introduce binding targets for member states by 2030.
This article forms part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors’ views. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information these articles contain.
Would you like to see more trash art projects in Malta?
READ NEXT: Malta Represent: Lenise Agius, 19, Elected As EU Ambassador For The Conference On The Future Of Europe
