Arlington Museum of Art displays Tarrant County-traveling giant water bottle sculpture

This jolly giant gives a new meaning to “green.”

A year ago, he was nothing but an assortment of plastic water bottles scattered across Tarrant County — likely destined for a landfill or roadside. Now, he’s a 30-foot sculpture on display at the Arlington Museum of Art. 

Composed of about 24,000 water bottles, visitors can view “The Giant Water Bottle Sculpture Project with Artist Willie Cole” for free until Oct. 15.

The Tarrant County Education Foundation commissioned the sculpture project to artist Willie Cole in 2023. The foundation wanted Cole to introduce his “Artcycling” philosophy — the repurposing of discarded materials into art — to Fort Worth public schools and community stakeholders.

Over the next few months, more than 1,000 families in Tarrant County helped gather materials for the sculpture, which was then assembled by about 300 students, teachers and community partners.

First, the community inspected and cleaned the bottles. Then they wired the plastic into flat, 12-foot-long blankets of bottles that Cole shaped into the giant’s appendages, torso, head and feet.

The project aimed to expose students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers in an unconventional way, Arlene Barnett, executive director of the Tarrant County Education Foundation, previously told the Report. 

Cole’s work has appeared in exhibitions at some of the country’s biggest museums, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His public and private artwork often revolves around African imagery using found objects and environmental conservation.

The water bottle sculpture has previously visited the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. 

Kendall Quirk, the Arlington Museum of Art’s director of exhibitions, said the project’s community-oriented origins align with the museum’s broader, inclusive mission, and the museum will continue to platform similar exhibitions.

Also on Aug. 17, the museum opened “She Said, She Said: Contemporary Artists from the Rubell Museum,” an exhibition dedicated to elevating women’s voices that features work from over 30 artists. While admission to the bottle sculpture is free, visitors must purchase tickets for “She Said, She Said.” 

Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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