PECT GREEN FESTIVAL 2016 – FEATURED ARTIST: Phillipa Phillips

PECT Green Festival 2016  – Featured Artist 

Seven artists have been commissioned to transform Peterborough city centre into a showcase for environmental art at this year’s PECT Green Festival, which returns with a Launch Day on Saturday 13th August and Fringe Events through till 21st August.

From a three-metre long papier-mâché stag beetle to an origami boat-walking trail, the artworks promise to spark debate about sustainable living and encourage residents to take positive action for the local and global environment.

Organised by the charity Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT), the Festival brings together community groups, charities and businesses in an annual celebration of ‘green’ initiatives in the city. The Festival aims to encourage local people to live sustainably and develop long-term behaviour change, by exploring themes such as sustainable transport, recycling, local and sustainable food and biodiversity.

For the second year running PECT have commissioned artists to support and create new artwork specifically for the festival. They will exhibit their works and run interactive activities at the 2016 event.

In lead up to the Peterborough Green Festival Idea1 will release an interview with each of the 7 artists. A chance to get a taster of what to expect at this years Green Fest and get to know the artists. Introducing the fith Green Festival artist, Phillippa Phillips

Artist: Phillippa Phillips

Art Work: Cross Pollination – a collaboration between Phillippa Phillips and Vikki Harold

Local artists Phillippa Phillips and Vikki Harold will come together to create an interactive, recycled artwork at the Festival launch, as well as recycled flower and seed bomb workshops. Using reclaimed materials, Vikki will create ‘Bee & Bee’- an urban, bee-friendly environment to show how we can all help pollinators. Phillippa will explore attitudes to waste and litter by working with local Rainbow, Brownie and Guide groups to create a meadow of flowers made from collected rubbish

Tell us a little bit about yourself? 


I live in Peterborough and work part time at John Lewis Haberdashery Department.
I have spent 13 years studying textiles which accumulated in a degree in textile arts with Opus School of textile arts.

Could you describe your art practice?

A theme within my work is transforming recycled and discarded materials into thought provoking art. Litter is a reoccurring theme within many of my exhibits, I wish is to challenge the viewer’s perceptions in a subject that has become a common problem that blights today’s society.

I’m a multi-media textile artist and during my 6 years degree course we were encourage to think outside the box. As embroidery has been on the decline for some time it was my wish to create a more exciting platform using this medium. Therefore my use of recycled and odd materials in which to embroider developed. I use all sorts of found and litter items and have used photography to elevate embroidery into a more dynamic art form.

What will you be creating as part of your Green Festival Commission?

For the festival I have put away my needles and worked with aluminium cans found on the streets of Peterborough. Litter is a common problem that blights today society, through this exhibit I wish to highlight the amount of litter on our streets as well as interact with its viewers to work a solution to these problems

How can the public get involved with your artwork? 

Since starting the project I have held weekly rainbows/brownies and guide workshops. In which they have made the same flowers with recycled milk cartons this will become part of the exhibition.

How does your commission tie in with the themes of Green Festival?

Firstly this is a joint venture with Vikki Harold, who will be creating a B & B hotel for bees. Vikki will be looking at encouraging people in ways to bring them into the garden. We both started with a proposal for making recycled flowers, so PECT asked if we would like to work together. Litter was the issues that I wanted to tackle, so that we kept our identity within the project we have come to an unusual solution. A long side Vikki’s Beehive, I will be creating a very large flower head made from 200 drink cans, found from the street litter and turned into over 2000 small flowers. They have messages on them that cans take 500 years to biodegrade. Alongside this I will have my workshop group’s milk carton contributions that will make up the leaves. There is a large central piece that is under wraps until the festival with our joint message. ‘If there’s no bees, there’s no flowers. No flowers? Then there’s only litter.’

Cross Pollination will be on display behind St John’s Church on 13th August 2016 as part of The Green Festival held in Peterborough City Centre. This project has seen 200 drink cans picked up from street litter and transformed into 2000 small flowers which in turn will create a giant flower.  #PECTGreenFest.