Plastic Mountain is a participatory public artwork to raise awareness of the plastic issue In September 2021, West Norwood will come together to create a temporary sculpture made of earth with embedded litter and a related mural to raise awareness of the problems of plastic pollution.

1. A Plastic Awareness Art Project

2. Dimensions of the sculpture:
approx. 2 m (h) x 1 m (w) x 1 m (d)
Location on Norwood Road
outside Knowles of Norwood

3. What is the project?
Plastic Mountain is a participatory public artwork for the heart of
Norwood.
In Mid-September 2021, a strange wooden box will appear on Norwood
Road outside an empty shop unit, and a small group of local residents
will be mixing earth and compacting it into the large box. Passers-by will
be invited to collect litter from the area and add it to the construction.
A couple of weeks later, the box will be dismantled to reveal a beautiful
sculpture, striated with layers of earth, with little hints of colour from the
embedded litter.
But in the next weeks and months, the earth will slowly erode, leaving
behind a ghostly skeleton covered in litter.
To help engage the public and understand more about the problem of
plastic, the windows of the empty shop unit will be filled with a mural
designed and painted by local young people.

4. Process
1. Litter pick activities
collect local plastic
waste
2. Construction of rammed
earth sculpture on site
incorporating the waste
plastic into the layers
3. Unveiling of finished
Plastic Mountain
4. The rammed earth slowly
washes away leaving a
ghostly metal framework
with the waste plastic
tethered in place

5. ● to create a sense of place and community
for Norwood as we start to emerge from
the pandemic
● to present a visual metaphor for the
problem of plastic waste in our society so
we can be inspired to imagine a new way
of living more in harmony with the earth
The project has two purposes:

6. 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year worldwide. But plastic
is so permanent, “it does not go away”, as Sir David Attenborough said it
himself. Additives inside the plastic can leach out and contaminate air, soil
and water. Microplastics endanger wildlife and indeed human beings too.
Now is the time to act at global and local levels.
And this is what Plastic Mountain does. Raising awareness of the plastic
problem and developing behaviour change before the plastic we consume
ends up at the bottom of our oceans.
The plastic issue

7. ● The project will provide lots of opportunities for children, young
people and adults to engage in cultural, campaigning and creative
activities which are known to improve wellbeing and mental health
● The shop windows project will develop the skills, ambition and
employability of a small group of 16 - 18 year olds from diverse and
disadvantaged backgrounds
● We have identified a need to bring different community groups
together to understand each other and coordinate shared activities
and aims. We believe this project could act as a focus for this
Working with our communities

8. Core Team
Briony marshall
Artist
Adeline Aletti
Plastics
Campaign
Lead
Partners

9. ● 10 days of sculpture build on site
involving local volunteers mid-September
● Public engagement on the pavement
around the sculpture
● Opening ceremony 3rd of October to
coincide with West Norwood Feast and
other local events
● Lots of engagement with local children
through workshops and projects with
primary and secondary schools as well as
youth clubs, West Norwood Feast and
community groups
● Social media engagement and website
● 2 months of sculpture changing
● Final event ceremonial removal of
remaining plastic
Project Activities

10. ● We will be running a total of 76 educational, training or
participatory sessions (defined as either a morning, afternoon or
evening sessions)
● We will be actively engaging 1150 participants in these sessions
● Due to the sculpture location, we envisage it will be seen by approx
250,000 people over the two and a half months of the projects
duration
Project Numbers

11. About Adeline
As a lead campaigner at Lambeth Friends of the Earth, the local branch of
the international environment charity, Adeline works with local groups
and communities across the borough to raise awareness of the plastic
issue and to promote sustainability.
Embedded in its communities, Lambeth FoE campaigns on issues
including climate change and plastics to make Lambeth a better place to
live.
Adeline is a multidisciplinary artist. Her background in the theatre
industry has led her to coordinate and co-direct several theatre projects.

12. About Briony
Briony Marshall is a sculptor and member of the Royal Society of
Sculptors based in South London. Her work investigates the beauty of
science and the natural world and their complicated relationship with
humans in the 21st
. Her public art commissions can be seen in open
spaces and schools in the UK.

13. Previous project: Layers of Bournemouth

14. Previous project: Layers of Bournemouth
● Build took 100 hours
onsight witnessed by
30,000 visitors
● 1,500 people engaged
the team in conversation
● 80 passers-by (adults
and children) helped in
the creation
● 19 volunteers spent an
average of 1.1 days
helping create the work
● Featured on social
media, local press and
local facebook groups
● The work continues to
get 600,000 visitors /
year

15. We hope you are as excited as us about this great
project and look forward to working with you
To find out more visit
plasticmountain.org
Briony Marshall
briony@plasticmountain.org
Adeline Aletti
adeline@plasticmountain.org
For more about Briony’s work see www.briony.com
or to find out more about Lambeth Friends of the Earth
see: www.lambethfriendsoftheearth.org.uk

16. Dimensions of the sculpture:
approx. 2 m (h) x 1 m (w) x 1 m (d)
Location on Norwood Road
outside Knowles of Norwood