A RENOWNED artist is set to turn plastic bottles into amazing sculptures at a Basingstoke shopping centre.

Veronika Richterová’s PET project will see discarded plastic bottles turn into weird and wonderful sculptures at Festival Place over the summer.

Veronika, who calls her creations PET-ART, will take over the centre’s Porchester Square from August 13 to 18, helping shoppers let their imaginations run wild with two free plastic sculpture workshops a day.

In the run-up to the event, Festival Place is calling on families to donate as many plastic bottles and plastic bottle caps as they can to support the project, part of its Trash to Treasure series of environmentally-friendly activities over the school holidays.

To encourage visitors to donate bottles, a series of eye-catching Recyclabots – named Maggie Zine, Alan Minium, Bev Ridge, Cap‘n Lidov, and Diana Thirst – will go on display around the centre.

There are also plastics recycling drop-off points now in Porchester Square.

Veronika, who has worked with plastic bottles since 2004, has displayed her works at more than 40 exhibitions in her native Czech Republic and as far afield as Cuba, Taiwan and Milan.

She said: “I discovered the idea of PET-ART by chance and since 2004, I have been developing my technique and ideas connected with recycling and environmental issues. They say one person’s trash is another man’s treasure, and I am excited about working with the public to bring that concept to life at Festival Place.

“The project will be huge fun but also has a serious message about the amount of plastic we throw away, and the importance of recycling.”

Neil Churchill, centre manager at Festival Place, said: “We are delighted and very excited to be welcoming Veronika to Festival Place this summer. Her work is fun, witty and inspiring as well as thought-provoking, highlighting the importance of recycling and environmental issues.

“At Festival Place we are committed to being national leaders in green initiatives and to providing a fun, family-friendly visitor experience. The Trash to Treasure project meets both of those aims, and I can’t wait to see some fantastic plastic creations start to spring up around the centre.”