Animal nimal instincts instinc nstincts ts; JUHAM.

RECYCLING rubbish into attractive art is clever enough in itself, but Val Hunt's new exhibition has taken things a step further.

Reincarnated Rubbish - Endan R -gered and Extinct at the Museum & Art Gallery in Nuneaton sees Val using items such as drinks can metal, foil take-away containers, tins and plastic to make models of creatures which are either endangered, or already extinct. Alongside each new piece there's some information about it, including why it may be endangered, so it's also an environmentally educational exhibition on a new level.

It wouldn't work though, if the pieces weren't good to look at, but they are. Recognisable cans of a certain beer or soft drink brand shine to come to life as animals. The Fully Matured Dodo, extinct since 1681, is reincarnated with what looks like Guinness cans making its row of feathers. Canned honey bees have a hive made from nightlight holders and a plastic fruit box, and are suspended away from it with computer wire.

An Extra Strong Sabre Tooth T Tiger sticks out from the wall, mouth open to show jagged teeth, and wire making up its whiskers and also bristling from its ears.

The Tinned Cod has scales of shiny gold food tins, and the Endangered Mollusc has waves of takeaway foil containers to make up its shell.

A normally-comforting baby's dummy has its use inverted, as many of them make up the Puffer-Sucker fish mobile, on what is really an endangered but toxic fish. The rare Blue-headed Sucker fish is a plastic bowl sticking out of the wall with attractive small fish swimming all over it, made from plastic milk bottles, CDs and blue ink tint.

It isn't a po-faced show though.

There's also the Carlsberg Dragon, a fairly cute and legendary creature made of drinks can metal, and the huge standing Terror Bird, made T of wood from a futon, metal and fliers and posters from an Edinburgh fringe play.

It's an attractive exhibition combining an interesting subject of study and attractive and skilled pieces of work. There is also a drawing of Val Hunt in her Coventry studio by her daughter Lucy, showing the artistic talent seems to run in the family.

Article Details

Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:	Features
Publication:	Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)
Date:	Jul 11, 2014
Words:	366
Previous Article:	? A CHARITY fundraising LifeY Drawing Evening is [...].
Next Article:	Company leads kids' workshop.