Street artist Herr Nilsson reveals Ariel sculpture constructed from rubbish as part of a ‘Clean Street Art’ series in Stockholm

02.07.21 - Stockholm, Sweden: Herr Nilsson (www.herrnilsson.me), the renowned and anonymous Swedish street artist famed for his provocative work (installed whilst wearing his trademark monkey mask), has today unveiled a new sculpture of mermaid, Ariel, titled ‘Part Of Your World’ next to the lake at Str?mgatan, between the Royal Castle and Kungstr?dg?rden in central Stockholm. This is the first piece of art in his ‘Clean Street Art’ series that will be installed in various public locations around Stockholm during summer.

?Ariel was unveiled outside Stockholm Palace early this morning, weighing approximately 200 kgs and having taken around 300 hours for Herr Nilsson to construct prior to placement.

?The sculpture is made entirely from rubbish retrieved from Lake M?laren by Rena M?laren (www.renamalaren.com), the non-profit organisation that specialises in retrieving debris from the bottom of the lake. The sculpture of Ariel has been bought by Konrad Bergstr?m, founder of X Shore, the Swedish electric boating company, whose craft were used in the collection of the discarded items which constitute this sculpture. A major part?of the income from the sold sculpture will go back to Rena M?laren to finance their ongoing work.

?Ariel consists of mobile phones, cord phones, a vacuum cleaner, a sink, an oil barrel, a car tyre, a computer mouse, a watch, screws, and circuit boards. Key features such as Ariel’s hair are made from hoses, while her eyes are discarded CPU fans. Most notably, one of her raised middle fingers is represented by a knife, while the rocks situated at the front of the sculpture are old lead boat batteries, which are incredibly damaging to the environment.

?Ariel and her soon-to-be companions are not only works of art, but symbols of the importance of protecting our waters. For as long as she remains in position, Ariel can be seen with her two middle fingers up, saying F*** OFF to those who pollute the seas, oceans and waterways, day after day.

?Herr Nilsson comments: “After many years of provocative street art around the world, I was looking for something new and meaningful closer to home. When a friend presented the idea of creating something unique from scrap found on the bed of lakes and waterways, therefore highlighting a very important environmental issue, it immediately sounded just right. With the help of Rena M?laren and an enormous number of hours later, the sculpture is finally ready to see the light of day!”

?Fredrik Johansson, founder of Rena M?laren, comments: “This is a fantastic project to draw attention to the problems that occur beneath the surface of our waters. We are grateful for the financial contributions we are receiving as a result of this as these enable us to continue our mission of a cleaner ocean. We have already retrieved over 100 tonnes of rubbish from the seabed around Stockholm and I must thank all the volunteers who help us, weekend after weekend.”

?Konrad Bergstr?m, new owner of Ariel and founder of X Shore, adds: “Saving our oceans is of great importance to me and I am delighted that I could provide our X Shore boats to assist with the retrieval of the rubbish from Lake M?laren. I am hoping this sculpture will raise significant awareness of how important it is to protect our waterways and wildlife, and shame those people who think that dumping things in the water is acceptable. To them, I say, you helped make Ariel, but you should be seriously embarrassed about your contribution.”

Further information about the project can be found on Herr Nilsson’s page (www.herrnilsson.me), where there is also the opportunity to contribute to the project in the future.

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About Herr Nilsson

Herr Nilsson broke onto the international street art scene in 2012 when he painted a series of paintings titled ‘Dark Princesses', including Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty armed with knives and pistols. The Disney princesses lurked around street corners in Stockholm where they appeared to wait for passers-by. As a result, Herr Nilsson was invited to a number of exhibitions in New York, Miami, London and Tel Aviv. The collectors of his work are found all over the world, among them being famous financiers and royalty.

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Website: www.herrnilsson.me

Instagram and Twitter: @nilsson_herr

Facebook: www.facebook.com/herrNilssonStreetart

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About Rena M?laren

Rena M?laren (www.renamalaren.com) was founded in the summer of 2018 by Fredrik Johansson and daily activities company Fr?mja (framja.se). Currently, there are over 100 volunteers both below and above water who perform at least one ocean clean a week, often more. The aim is to remove toxic waste from Lake M?laren and the Baltic Sea, and to awaken public opinion so that people do not continue to throw their rubbish into the fragile aquatic environment. Since 2018, Rena M?laren has removed 118 tonnes of scrap from Stockholm’s waterways.

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