It's a whale of a trash can in Plett

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Art and function merged in a spectacular way on Saturday 12 June when a massive sculpture of a humpback whale breaching with its mouth wide open was first showcased.

Plett residents and visitors at Central Beach were awed by the functional artwork that was created by artist Derek Saul.

The idea behind the sculpture, which not only beautifies the popular beach area but also serves as a giant recycling bin, is to encourage beachgoers and visitors to responsibly dispose of their recyclable waste such as plastic food containers, bottles and fishing line.

The idea for the project was born in May 2019 when organiser and driving force behind the initiative, Fran Molloy, was inspired by a sculpture dubbed Goby - a large wire fish on the Molloy decided that Plett needed a similar installation and Saul's name came up.

Saul is a sculptor who has worked all over the world and in the film industry. it did not take him long to came up with a sketch that depicted exactly what Molloy wanted to have created - a breaching humpback whale. This is an applicable motif, as these whales are often seen breaching along the Plettenberg Bay coast.

Saul's numerous projects include sculptures for Ratanga Junction at Century City, Dizengoff square in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Anglo American's head office in Johannesburg. He also owns Cloud 7 Brewery in Fisanthoek outside Plett, where he "sculpts" delicious craft brew.

The sculpture's steel structure is lined with debris from the sea washed up on the Garden Route.

The whale was welded and sculpted in Saul's workshop, transported to George for galvanising and then brought back to be burnished and polished.

On Friday 11 June the finished work of art was brought to Central Beach on the back of a bakkie and lifted into position by a crane courtesy of the Bitou Municipality.

READ HERE: Plett's big new Goby Fish bin

Molloy raised all the money to create the sculpture through private funding, but the municipality supported the project by providing among other things, the crane.

Organisers said the future may include more trash-gobbling creatures at strategic points around Plett and a mosaic workshop will be held for the plinth to be covered in mosaic tiles during the upcoming Plett Arts Festival, which takes place from 10 to 20 July.