A giant mosaic made from recycled plastic bottles depicting Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting The Starry Night is to be unveiled on Saturday in Keelung’s Embrace Cultural and Creative Park (擁恆文創園區).
The mosaic, named The Starry Paradise, covers 53 hectares and is expected to set a new Guinness World Record as the largest of its kind.
The project is almost complete and the artist responsible for its creation has received more than 4 million recycled plastic bottles in donations, the park management said.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
Finding the plastic bottles to create The Starry Paradise was a trying experience, said Wang Cheng-wei (王振瑋), the designer and overseer of the piece, who is also a lecturer at the National Changhua University of Education and a renowned sculptor involved in many public art projects.
The bottles were donated by recycling centers as well as individuals, and for every 10 bottles that were received, the park donated NT$1 to the Canlove Social Service Association, a charity that aims to help people with depression, Wang said.
The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation in Hualien County assisted in coordinating organizational efforts and promoted the project on Facebook, he said.
“The project focuses on the concepts of healing and art, while serving as a charity that addresses environmental concerns,” park spokesperson Jeffrey Wang (王志欽) said.
Finding sufficient numbers of blue bottles was especially challenging, as blue was a prominent color in the original painting, Wang Cheng-wei said, adding that blue plastic bottles are relatively rare in Taiwan and that they had to work hard to obtain correct hues of blue bottles.
“This project is a dialogue between Vincent van Gogh and me,” Wang Cheng-wei said
“It has different visual effects in daytime when the grass under the mosaic forms a contrast with the arrangement’s colors, while at night LED lights illuminate the places where stars are in Van Gogh’s composition,” the artist said.
The installation is to start receiving visitors on New Year’s Day, the park management said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
RSS