News / andy council
Upcycled art project saves pianos from the tip
An eco-arts initiative has given creative free rein on materials salvaged from the region’s many redundant pianos destined for landfill.
Played and Remade will see the walls of The Piano Shop Bath lined with upcycled artworks forged from the 150-300 unwanted and unfixable pianos they are asked to scrap each year. Bristol’s Andy Council is taking part in the first exhibition of what they hope will be many more to come.
Shop owner Jon Kelly said: “Far too many redundant pianos are now being sent to landfill, dumped, abandoned or even burnt.”
Jon says he’s had an “awesome” response from artists invited to reimagine the salvaged materials, such as Kirk Andrews who produced this portrait of Elton John – photo: The Piano Shop
Played and Remade is Jon’s response to what he sees as “a disservice to the time and skills involved in making a piano.”
The art project is also an environment-friendly solution to the needless waste of the many materials used to manufacture each instrument, including native and exotic woods, cast iron, brass, felt, copper and steel wires.
Artists have been given their pick of these resources for creative re-use, exhibition, and sale via the shopfloor and online.
Those in this first exhibition include Clare Burnett, former President of the Royal Society of Sculptors; mixed-media artist Juliann Worrall Hood; and Victoria Topping, fusing digital and traditional techniques in work that has been shown Europe-wide. The shop’s own piano tuner-cum-artist Marc Hackworthy has also taken part.
A detail of Bristol artist Andy Council’s work to be included in the first Played and Remade exhibition – photo: Andy Council
Bristol-based illustrator Andy Council, a resident of Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio who is known for his large-scale outdoor murals, said he liked the ethos behind the project.
“I often find my best work ends up being on a surface that isn’t specifically meant for painting on and I like to reuse things rather than bin them,” he told Bristol24/7.
The piece he has produced contrasts the polished wood from an old piano with a modern, cartoon-like graphic.
“I chose to paint a pair of stags as a pretty traditional emblem, but done in a kind of robotic way,” he added. “It’s that juxtaposition of the classical and new or urban that I was going for.”
Andy Council is known for his largescale murals, such as this one produced for Upfest in 2022 – photo: Street Art Atlas
The project builds on the store’s record of working with creative artists, including re-styling pianos for the band Coldplay.
“It’s lovely to work with creatives who share our vision,” said Jon. “Each piano holds a story of the people who have lived with the instrument, often over many years, and of the instrument’s makers. Played and Remade will keep the story going and forge a special bond between music and art.”
There are plans to open a permanent, regularly changing, Played and Remade exhibition in the shop later this year. For now, a free-to-view taster showcase opens in shop and online on May 1.
Main photo: The Piano Shop
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