James Carter threw four pieces of original oil painting into a woodchipper in Nelson Town Centre on Saturday, May 14, as dozens of people watched on.
James, 19, organised the performative art display as part of his Nelson and Colne College ‘Re-imagine Project‘ but also to raise awareness for the environmental charity #teamtrees
He is now auctioning off high quality digitised versions of the oil paintings as NFT’s where you can see every last brushstroke in order to raise money for Team Trees.
James Carter spent four months painting them and said it was “heartbreaking” to have them destroyed.
Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, he said: “The day went so perfectly, I couldn’t have asked for better weather and I also got to draw in a rather large crowd of around 50 people.
“It was heartbreaking to destroy my artwork but it is all for a good cause. However, the crowd weren’t quite as upset as they all cheered when I threw them into the woodchipper.
“The audience really liked the idea of it all. We spoke to a couple of people afterwards and they really did like the concept, how it was all done and laid out.”
The entirety of the Re-Imagine Project has been documented on the website www.reimagineproject.co.uk
The shredded remains of the four paintings will now be put into epoxy resin in order to create an entirely new piece of artwork.
The paintings themselves are recreations of an old photograph, which depicts a canal running through Nelson and Colne.
The different paintings show the evolution of time and its effects on the environment around the canal – before cultivation, during the industrial revolution and a future filled with plastic, waste and pollution, and also demonstrate what the environment could look like if we made an active change to make a difference.
He is now auctioning off each of the paintings as Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are digital versions of the original pieces of artwork.
As part of the project, James Carter has also written a book called ‘Time To Make The Change’ which teaches individuals about how they can make a large impact to help the environment without relying on large companies or corporations, as well as save money.
People can place bids on the NFT’s, where profits are being donated to the charity Team Trees by visiting OpenSea as “Re-Imagine Project” https://opensea.io/collection/re-imagine-project
The remains of the shredded paintings are being placed into an epoxy resin mould that will be on featured display at the NCC Art Exhibition.
James Carter was featured on the BBC Radio Lancashire the morning of his project event which you can listen to here.
James Carter also praised his college classmates for helping him on the day in his live speech to the audience. He also praised his tutor Simone for always supporting him for his projects, and finally gave a large thank you to his beloved parents for homeschooling him which has allowed him to make it to where he is today.
You can view the video of James Carter destroying his Re-Imagine paintings below, which was also live-streamed on YouTube.
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