Marvel-lous new Hulk sculpture arrives at Shropshire ironwork centre
A gigantic sculpture of the Hulk made from recycled car parts has set up residence at a Shropshire attraction as part of a new global exhibition.
The Marvel character has been assembled from entirely recycled material and is already impressing guests at the British Ironwork Centre and Sculpture Park near Oswestry.
He is the first sculpture in a new exhibition which has been launched at the centre, which aims to display a piece of art from all 195 countries in the world.
As part of the Green Sculptures from around the Globe exhibition, the centre has scouted artists from all over the world and is commissioning sculptures from them, which will eventually be displayed in Shropshire.
Clive Knowles, chairman of the centre, said: "Green Sculptures from around the Globe will showcase all the amazing work being created around the world.
"There are 195 separate countries in the world today, according to the United Nations. Each country has a specific style or skill that’s unique to their region and they all have very different characteristics.
"It’s our intention to bring something amazing from each country and show all the styles here at the Ironworks."
Speaking about the Hulk, Clive added: "We were thinking what would interest visitors and children, so of course the Hulk came to mind. We want to make sure more and more interesting sculptures arrive here.
"The Hulk really is spectacular – it originated in Thailand where they have a breath-taking skill in creating from car parts.
"Every country generally uses their natural or unnatural resources to the max and we will be encouraging each county to work from green materials: waste is always our favourite.
"The world is so much smaller than it has ever been before – it’s exciting to be in a position to make this a reality here in Shropshire."
Clive and his colleagues set out on an impressive search to find artists from every country in the world, searching online to see what artists are good at and what they're most proud of, then commissioning art in this vein.
Other artworks have already been commissioned, and will be displayed at the centre when they arrive in Shropshire.
Clive added: "We've commissioned one work which is an enormous sculpture of half the globe. It's stunning. A spaceman is sat on the top - head down and bored to death because mankind ruined the world. There's nowhere to go and nothing to do.
"We've also commissioned an artist in Kenya who is making a turtle out of flip flops he found on the beach."
The full exhibition is expected to be complete by the end of next year and hopes to challenge mindsets.
"It’s shocking this has never happened before," Clive said, "there simply isn’t this educational tool anywhere else in the country.
It will act not only as something spectacular for the public to see but will be a resource for art colleges and art institutions to learn from too.
