ONE MAN’S TRASH …

Portuguese street artist Artur Bordalo, known by the moniker Bordalo II, is showing off some bold new street art in an abandoned Lisbon warehouse. Bordalo draws attention to wastefulness by creating massive vibrant animals out of discarded plastic, car parts and other trash, turning them into whimsical designs unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Garbage is given new life as colourful animal sculptures in Bordalo II’s solo exhibition Attero – the Latin word for ‘waste.’ The trash is locally sourced, according to online media Colossal, and might come from old cars, construction materials, or whatever else the artist happens to find. He often transforms the detritus into animals because they are particularly vulnerable to harm from our society, which too often throws items away, polluting the environment.

Attero calls us to reflect on our own consumption, according to Lara Seixo Rodrigues, founder of nonprofit arts organisation Mistaker Maker, which curated Attero. “Whether on a large or small scale, his unusual sculptural creations oblige us to question and rethink our own role as actors in this static, consumerist, and self-destructive society, which exploits, often in an abusive way, the resources that nature offers us,” claims Rodrigues.

Bordalo II echoes these ideas in his Facebook biography, saying he belongs “to a generation that is extremely consumerist, materialist, and greedy.” The artist, who was born in 1987, revitalises end-of-life materials discarded by others to create his pieces.

Bordalo II’s sculptures are often massive, sprawling across building walls. While those large, attention-grabbing pieces are certainly part of Attero, the free exhibition also includes smaller pieces on old doors, windowpanes, or siding. Around 8000 people visited the show during its first week.