A trashy image of a seagull made from refuse has appeared on the side of Hove Lagoon’s Big Beach Cafe.
Portuguese artist Artist Bordalo II, who has created a series of “trash animals”, worked over three days at the cafe, owned by Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, earlier this month.
Half the sculpture is painted in bright colours, but the other half remains exposed.
Cafe manager Danny Stockland said: “It was Norman’s idea. He’s a big fan of street art and recognised this great art and wanted to make this great statement about how art can come out of rubbish.
“Bordalo only does one of each sculpture. We have been looking after him and his partner all week.
“We worked with City Clean who collected bits and pieces of rubbish for us, and we asked people on Twitter to bring in broken toys and plastic stuff.
“It took two or three days by the time they got it all together and cleaned it up.
“Only one side is painted, and the other half is exposed so you can see what it’s made of.
“It’s getting a fantastic reaction. All the mums and kids are loving it. It’s been really positive – everyone seems to love it.
“We were really looking into how we are affecting the environment. We’re meeting with City Clean to see how we can recycle our coffee cups. We don’t have any facilities at Hove Lagoon to do that.”
Ward councillor Robert Nemeth said: “As chairman of the Friends of Hove Lagoon, I have been delighted to work closely with the Big Beach Cafe to firmly re-establish the Lagoon as the city’s top seafront attraction.
“Residents and visitors alike constantly say how pleased they are with the changes that are being made. This art installation, with a serious message behind it, further improves this exciting destination.”
