Birmingham Bullring’s famous bronze bull has gone head to head with a replica of itself made from Coca-Cola cans to mark the beginning of Recycle Week (2 - 8 June 2008).
Visual artist Pamina Stewart re-created The Bull from recyclable materials commissioned by Coca-Cola in a bid to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of recycling and to encourage more consumers to recycle their drinks cans and bottles. Laurence Broderick, the artist who created the original bronze bull, was on hand to help unveil the new sculpture.
The Coke can Bull is one of four iconic aluminium sculptures being unveiled in cities across the country this week – others include Big Ben in London, The Angel of the North in Gateshead and the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol which have all been re-created by artists from around the country using Coca-Cola cans.
While soft drinks packaging is one of the world’s most recycled materials, only 25% of plastic bottles and 48% of aluminium beverage cans are currently recycled in the UK.
Liz Lowe, Citizenship Manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain said “‘We hope the Coke can Bull will encourage people to think twice about where they throw their empty drinks containers – our packaging is not just waste, but a valuable resource which can be used again and again. Recycling saves energy and we can all do more.”
Artist Pamina Stewart said “I think engaging the public to recycle more through art is a great idea and I was thrilled to be part of this project. Bullring is so iconic for Birmingham, it made total sense to produce a representation of the original bull but with a twist. It was obviously vital that the bull was made from sustainable materials, so I made the frame from willow and incorporated the cans carefully so that they can easily be dissembled and recycled in the future.”
The Coca-Cola can Bull will be displayed alongside other Climate Change Festival exhibits in the city throughout the week. After that it will, of course, be recycled.
'Coca-Cola' and 'Coke' are registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.