Gigantic Glowing Fish Sculptures Made From Recycled Bottles Rise From Rio Beach

Two giant fish sculptures are jumping out of a beach in Rio de Janiero, and they're made entirely from recycled plastic bottles! The scales of the epic sculptures were made by lining up hundreds of <a href="https://inhabitat.com/wang-zhiyuans-giant-sculpture-whirls-like-a-tornado-of-trash/" target="_blank">empty clear plastic bottles</a>, giving the fish a shimmer day and night. The glowing installations appear on the popular Botafogo Beach as part of the <a href="https://inhabitat.com/air-canada-launches-first-biofuel-commercial-flight-from-toronto-to-mexico-city/" target="_blank">Rio +20 conference</a>.

The gorgeous fish glitter with reflection of the sun’s rays, juxtaposed against a beautiful backdrop of Rio’s mountains. Each sparkles with <a href="https://inhabitat.com/luzinterruptus-create-illuminated-swimming-pool-sculpture-from-recycled-containers/" target="_blank">blue hues from the plastic</a>, but also illuminates at night, in warm blues and reds from LED and projected lights.

The oversized installations welcome visitors to wander through and around <a href="https://inhabitat.com/aurora-robsons-ethereal-plastic-art-uses-up-to-20000-recycled-bottles/" target="_blank">their shimmering scales</a>.

Aside from providing a beautiful and surprising installation on the beach,<a href="https://inhabitat.com/a-kayak-made-from-recycled-bottles-navigates-argentinas-parana-river/" target="_blank"> the plastic sculpture</a> also symbolizes the threat of overconsumption on our ecosystem, specifically marine life. Each day, the world consumption of plastic bottles reaches epic proportions, with many being thrown into landfills rather than <a href="https://inhabitat.com/new-california-plant-will-recycle-2-billion-plastic-bottles-a-year/" target="_blank">simply being recycled</a>.

The sculpture, created for the UN Conference of Sustainable Development (Rio +20), brings awareness to both the <a href="https://inhabitat.com/plof-recycles-an-array-of-production-waste-into-colorful-ottomans/" target="_blank">importance of recycling</a>, and its relationship to marine life.

The sculptures, which dwarf visitors in size, also show viewers first hand just how massive a simple collection of disused <a href="https://inhabitat.com/coca-cola-opens-15m-plant-to-meet-plastic-recycling-targets/" target="_blank">plastic bottles</a> amounts to, giving perspective of a tiny slice of this world wide problem.

The beautiful sculptures can be enjoyed on the idyllic Botafogo Beach for the duration of the Rio +20 conference.