'Scrapel Hill' reinvents recycled materials as works of art

Instead of recycling in the traditional way, a group of artists has a different definition in mind.

Local artists, architects and designers were invited for the fifth year in a row to participate in Scrapel Hill — an art contest and exhibit featuring new works of art made from discarded materials.

The exhibition, which runs until Aug. 23, was a joint effort between University Mall and the town of Chapel Hill’s Public and Cultural Arts Office that began in 2009 to promote environmental awareness.

Jeanette Gulledge, marketing director at University Mall, said the exhibition is a good opportunity to feature local and regional artists.

“I think that anything that invites the curiosity of people of all ages to explore art is a great thing,” she said.

The artwork of 16 artists was chosen by a selection committee comprised of representatives from the town of Chapel Hill and the mall.

Gulledge said the mission of Scrapel Hill is to promote reuse and sustainability throughout the year.

“The main idea is to really get people out here to see the pieces and to appreciate how far you can take items that would normally be cast off,” she said.

Jeff York, public and cultural arts administrator for the town of Chapel Hill, said the original planning for the exhibition began in the summer of 2008 with the idea of making University Mall different from other malls.

“We wanted something local, regional and original,” he said.

York said the exhibition is a creative way to promote a message of recycling.

“There’s only so much space in the landfills, and we need to be thinking about the future of how we want to reuse things and not just discard into our waste dumps,” he said.

Jane Bergman won first place in the competition for her piece titled “Eons of Evolution Destroyed in Decades,” which featured a sea turtle positioned over a dying reef.

“Over the years I’ve just been struck by the fact that we hear increasingly bad news about the ocean environment,” she said.

Bergman, an art teacher at St. Thomas More Catholic School, said animals in art can attract adults and children alike.

“I want them to think about not just the beauty of the animal but what we’re doing to their environment,” she said.

Tom Dawson, a landscape architect from Durham who was one of the 16 artists chosen, said he doesn’t consider himself an artist.

He said the opportunity to express his ideas in the form of sculpture was a release from the restrictive nature of his daily job.

“This is kind of where an artist or designer can cut loose,” he said.

Dawson said he is particularly concerned with environmental awareness, and the importance of cultivating a caretaker personality through this art.

“We need to continue that dialogue so that it diffuses into every aspect of our lives,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.