Trash King Bordalo II brings the Koala to Italy, The Restart Urban Festival, 2020
Portuguese artist Bordalo II brought his Big Trash Animals to Imola, Italy, creating a monumental six-metre Koala from discarded materials for the eighth edition of RestArt Urban Festival. Installed within the grounds of the Cassiano and Alberghetti schools beside Palestra Cavina, the permanent sculpture connected environmental art, education and urban regeneration at a moment when questions around sustainability felt particularly urgent.
Created during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath of Australia’s devastating 2019–20 bushfires, the Koala became a symbol of environmental vulnerability far beyond its native habitat. RestArt’s 2020 edition centred specifically on environmental sustainability, making Bordalo II’s choice of animal particularly resonant.
Why Bordalo II Chose a Koala for Imola
A koala might appear an unexpected animal for an Italian city, yet that geographical distance was part of the work’s meaning. Images of koalas affected by Australia’s bushfires had travelled around the world, turning the species into a powerful symbol of the vulnerability of wildlife to environmental crisis.
“The choice of the Koala, an animal so far from Italy, but so endangered due to environmental emergencies, shows how we are all equal and close to a planet that suffers from human choices and actions. The emergency COVID 19, even more, has made us understand how much our health is connected to the well-being of the environment in which we live, so we hope that those who stop to admire the work can understand the ‘criticism’ of consumer society and choose to live more sustainably.”
Cesare Bettini, Artistic Director, RestArt Urban Festival
Bettini’s words placed the sculpture firmly within the particular circumstances of 2020, connecting environmental health, human behaviour and the wider consequences of consumer culture.
Bordalo II’s Koala Made From Waste
Standing approximately six metres high, Bordalo II’s Koala was constructed around a metal structure using discarded objects including old car bumpers, damaged containers, fruit and beer crates, pipes, tyres, plastic tanks, traffic cones and obsolete road signs.
These materials are characteristic of Bordalo II’s Big Trash Animals, where the remnants of consumption become the bodies of animals affected by environmental damage. The waste remains deliberately recognisable, allowing the sculpture’s materials to carry as much meaning as the animal itself.
Environmental Art at School
The location gave Bordalo II’s Koala another layer of significance. Rather than placing the work within a museum or commercial setting, RestArt installed it in the outdoor area shared by local schools, where students would encounter the sculpture as part of their everyday environment.
Students were also involved in preparing the regenerated site, helping clean walls and outdoor areas and cutting materials for artists taking part in the festival. The project therefore connected environmental awareness with participation, education and the transformation of a space the students themselves would continue to use.
GraffitiStreet reported at the time that the experience also encouraged local students to pursue practical measures aimed at reducing single-use plastic within Imola’s schools.
RestArt Urban Festival 2020
Organised by the cultural association Noi Giovani, the eighth RestArt Urban Festival took place from 11 to 13 September 2020, bringing street art, installations, workshops and music to the school complex in Imola despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
The festival transformed the outdoor grounds of the Cassiano and Alberghetti institutes and Palestra Cavina into an open-air art environment, with Bordalo II’s permanent Koala becoming its monumental centrepiece.
From Imola’s Koala to Bordalo II’s Wider Big Trash Animals
The 2020 Koala belongs to Bordalo II’s wider Big Trash Animals series, where animals become vehicles for examining pollution, overconsumption and environmental responsibility.
Its school setting also creates an interesting dialogue with Bordalo II’s Polar Bear and Cubs in Nancy, created earlier in 2020 on a nursery-school wall to encourage environmental awareness among younger generations.
Six years later, Bordalo II returned to the koala as a subject in Lisbon with his Half-Half Koala, revealing how his treatment of the same animal evolved from the dense, fully sculptural material language of the Imola work towards the contrasting surfaces of his Half-Half series.
Discover Bordalo II at GraffitiStreet
Discover available Bordalo II artworks at GraffitiStreet, contact us to discuss availability, acquisitions and private viewings, or visit GraffitiStreet Gallery, 25A West Street, Chichester, West Sussex, England PO19 1QW.
Photography © Adrian Lungu.