A world-record could be set in Cayman shortly, according to local artist Aston Ebanks.
Local artist Aston Ebanks with The Maze. The installation piece is made out of some 2,500 used shipping palettes. Photo: Joanna Lewis |
His giant installation art piece, The Maze, is due to open at Pageant Beach, Friday, 13 April. He hopes it will set a new record for the largest artwork made entirely out of recycled shipping palettes – an estimated 2,500 of them, to be precise.
Covering 80-foot by 80-foot, The Maze will have an approximate walk through time of 15 minutes, and will feature typical maze-style dead-ends. The interior will double up as an art exhibition space, with pieces by local artists on display, video installations, mirrors and ambient music throughout.
The concept of the piece, which has been a year in the making, is to highlight recycling.
‘I wanted to save the palettes from the landfill and show people how things can easily be re-used,’ explained Aston.
‘The more I work on this project the more it highlights to me that for every palette that is used, another tree is destroyed.’
To help highlight this concept, the floor of The Maze will be covered in woodchips, which will give the feeling of a forest; the idea being that the palettes are being returned to their original state.
Information on recycling will be displayed on billboards throughout the site.
‘I hope people will walk through The Maze and gain a new understanding of recycling and how things can be re-used,’ he said.
The installation will be on display to the public for three to four months. The artist is in the midst of planning monthly scheduled events for the duration of the exhibition, to entice visitors to the site.
The grand opening of the Maze, at 7pm on the 13th, will include entertainment by local musicians and a bonfire.
‘There will be a few palettes left over,’ said Aston. ‘The idea of the bonfire came to me as it seems a dignified end to the life of the palettes.’
Once The Maze is over, the future of the palettes remains unclear.
‘We may have to dump the palettes at the end of the exhibition because there are no recycling facilities on the island,’ Aston said, ‘but we are working hard to find a use for them.’
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