Recycled Goods from Park Rotana turned into Sculptures

By: Hyacinth Mascarenhas

After the incredible effort of 120 children and parents from all over Abu Dhabi, the city now boasts four new 5-foot sculptures installed at the YAS Marina, each made entirely out of recycled trash.

Designed during the YAS Waterworld Sculpture week, the art pieces were a part of the Green Abu Dhabi 2013 campaign to raise funds for the Future Center of Abu Dhabi and the Landmark Mangrove Project, an initiative that aims to clear the emirate_s mangroves of waste.

New York-based sculptor, Chris Oricchio, kept with the water park’s theme by designing four iconic sea creatures – a sea horse, con shell, crab and stingray.

The majority of the trash material used to build these sculptures was provided by Park Rotana Abu Dhabi.

“The protection of the earth’s natural resources and vitality is our sacred trust,” said Christiane Abou Zeidan, Director of Environment, Health & Safety Administration for Rotana Hotels, in a press release. “One of our environmental sustainability objectives is to optimize material consumption and reduce waste to landfill by reusing and recycling natural resources and materials.”

Therefore, we were enthusiastic to support the YAS Waterworld Sculpture Weekend event, where our property Park Rotana Abu Dhabi has hosted the stay of famous artist Chris Oricchio and provided hundreds kilograms of recyclables such as plastic bottles, cans, newspaper, magazines, which were later turned into magnificent sculptures under his guidance during the event,” said Zeidan.

Founder of Green Abu Dhabi 2013, Suhail Jashanmal, said the most difficult part of the event was actually collecting enough trash to build the sculptures.

Park Rotana, however, responded with about 100kg of recyclable material including plastic bottles, cans, newspaper and magazines. The hotel also housed the visiting artist during his first visit to Abu Dhabi.

“Park Rotana Abu Dhabi and its colleagues passionately contributed to achieving to the overall company’s environmental and social sustainability objectives by supporting the society we work and live in; the needs of local community as well as by promoting sustainability & green environment,” said Francisco Giles, the General Manager of Park Rotana Complex. “We continue to pursue initiatives and collaborative efforts with the community to develop and implement more programs & activities to maximize benefit to the environment and our local community, for a better life on earth.”

Green Abu Dhabi 2013 is a green initiative spearheaded by local artist Jashanmal to promote environmental awareness, encourage sustainable green practices in the region and call for action within the community.

The sculptures will later be auctioned to the highest bidder during the Celebrity Charity Auction with half the money going to the Future Centre for Special Needs and the other half towards Green Abu Dhabi, an initiative that aims to clear the emirate’s mangroves of waste.

“The four sculptures along with other art in the auction raised Dh22,000 for the Future Centre and the Landmark Mangrove Project, but what really counts is that the sculptures will be at the YAS Marina for everyone to appreciate,” said Jashanmal.