Bordalo II’s Big Trash Animals: Waste Not, Want Not

Portuguese artist Bordalo II has transformed discarded plastics, car parts, tyres and industrial debris into one of contemporary urban art’s most recognisable bodies of work. His monumental Big Trash Animals recreate wildlife using the remnants of human consumption, turning materials destined to become waste into striking three-dimensional sculptures that confront pollution, overproduction and our increasingly disposable culture.

Working from Lisbon and across cities around the world, Bordalo II gives discarded objects a second life while making their original identity deliberately visible. Broken bumpers become feathers, plastic containers form fur and twisted fragments of metal become the anatomy of animals whose natural habitats are increasingly affected by human activity. The contradiction is central to the work: wildlife is reconstructed from the materials contributing to the environmental pressures it faces.

“It’s part of the concept of my work, and my work in general, to use found trash from the streets, the fruits of excessive consumerism/capitalism.”

Explore how Bordalo II’s Big Trash Animals have evolved and discover the wider relationship between Bordalo II, waste, environmental sculpture and Provoc.

Why Bordalo II Trash Art and Waste Matter

The environmental problem underlying Bordalo II’s work has become even more urgent. More than 430 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, with around two-thirds consisting of short-lived products that quickly become waste. An estimated 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic waste enters lakes, rivers and seas annually, threatening wildlife and aquatic ecosystems.

Bordalo II turns those statistics into something tangible. Rather than encountering waste as an abstract environmental problem, viewers find themselves standing before an owl, fox, raccoon or other animal physically constructed from the remnants of consumption. The material becomes part of the message, forcing us to consider where our discarded objects ultimately go and what they leave behind.

His Big Trash Animals continue to demonstrate the uncomfortable connection between what humans consume and what the natural world is left to absorb.

Image Copyright Bordalo II

His Big Trash Animals continue to demonstrate the uncomfortable connection between what humans consume and what the natural world is left to absorb.

Bordalo II frequently incorporates locally sourced discarded materials into his sculptures, connecting each work to the city in which it is created. The waste therefore carries its own local history, while the animal becomes part of a much wider conversation about consumption, pollution and environmental responsibility.

Image Copyright Bordalo II

GraffitiStreet invited Bordalo II to our Underground group exhibition in London, where he joined eleven street artists for the show. For the exhibition, Bordalo II created a monumental four-metre London Rat from discarded materials collected from the streets of East London, transforming the city’s waste into an animal closely associated with the urban environment.

The work was built over the course of a week in a specially rented studio large enough to accommodate its scale, using materials we helped gather across London, including plastics, car bumpers, piping, bakery trays and even a discarded toilet. See behind-the-scenes images from the build-up to GraffitiStreet Underground.

Image Copyright Bordalo II

GraffitiStreet’s current Big Trash Animals guide expands this early account into the Neutral, Half-Half and Plastic sub-series, while our first-hand feature on the London Trash Rat records how that emerging language took physical form in East London in 2015.

Want to own a piece of art made by Bordalo II? 

Bordalo II has hand-lovingly made mixed media assemblages for us, which are exclusively available via the GraffitiStreet Store.

Discover Bordalo II at GraffitiStreet

Discover available Bordalo II artworks through GraffitiStreet’s online store, or contact us to discuss availability, acquisitions and private viewings. You can also experience selected works in person at GraffitiStreet Gallery, 25A West Street, Chichester, West Sussex, England PO19 1QW.

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