week 5: Veronika plastic bottle sculptures

This artist uses recycled materials including plastic bottles to create these fascinating sculptures. they are made from PET, which inspires her because of their light quality, which close to glass characteristics. Richterova uses this material for developing light designs for her limited editions. Safety is ensured by using energy saving bulbs which produce minimal heat.
These incredible sculptures, which number in the hundreds, give new life to thousands of recycled plastic bottles that the Czech artist collected from around the world. The collection, called PET-ART, features all kinds of playful fauna and flora from an adorable cactus collection to a cluster of flying fox bats.
The way she creates her sculptures together in a cluster is more fascinating as it feels as though you are surrounded by various kinds of plants which are simply made from PET bottles. I think it's clever how the artist photographed the bottles in the first image against the white clouds as this enhances the blues and greens on the sculptures.
The second image reminds me of a hot summers day because of the plastics made into roses against the light blue sky; The colour of the whole picture seems very subtle and feminine.

My plastic bottle sculpture

I have recreated Veronika's work by creating flower sculptures from plastic bottles. The process was enjoyable as I was able to cut into the plastic and create interesting objects. I took images of the sculpture outdoors which was difficult as I had to hang a white blanket behind it so that the bottles stand out, but the wind was blowing the bottles and blanket out of place, so I had to constantly re arrange everything. As I hung the bottles on the piece of wood I thought It seemed plain as there were no other colours or textures included, so then I thought of collecting some flowers from my garden as they relate to my creation.

I placed a few petals inside the bottom of the bottles and flowers which hang from the branch; This creates a sense of movement. Also there is an interesting contrast between the natural delicate flowers and petals hanging and resting on the man made plastic bottles.

The viewer can interpret this sculpture in various different ways for example they almost appear like hovering UFO'S. The sense of movement comes from the delicate plastic petals of the bottles and their coiled stem. There is a contrast between the natural flowers and bottles as the flowers seem heavy and stiff; they drop straight down. Whereas the bottles have a sense of airiness, they appear almost weightless.
Adding the splodges of paint unifies the flowers and bottles as it creates an unnatural appearance, linking them to the industrial like bottles. It is almost as though I have reversed the roles, the flowers appear bulky and the bottles seem fragile like flowers.

To further develop my work I would include thinner string to make the sculptures seem as though they are floating; This will also create a neater look and distract less from the subject of the sculpture, as right now all the structural work is visible. Next time I will find a more suitable area to photograph my piece to avoid all the creases on the white sheet.