Portugal-based artist Bordalo II (previously featured here) is drawing attention to environmental issues with his latest series, “Big Trash Animals”. The animals can be found in various cities in his home country including Lisboa and Estarreja, and as far reaching as Berlin, Germany. These new pieces take his core concept of giving waste a new life even further by spreading an important message: Through the large peering eyes of creatures like raccoons and tropical birds, Bordalo II forces us to reckon with our own wastefulness and remember the nature it destroys. The very materials that he uses are the things responsible for destruction; brightly spray-painted scrap metal, trash cans, and car bumpers sourced from places like abandoned factories. They playfully camouflage the ugliness of the artist’s urban landscape, while also pointing to our habit of camouflaging our trash. How we dispose of it remains an ongoing problem that society must address, setting the stage for this series as an ongoing one.
