Artist unveils 'newspaper house'
9 Mar 2008 15:08 GMT

About 120,000 discarded freesheets collected from across London have been fitted into a wooden structure to make a house from newspaper.

The interactive artwork by artist Sumer Erek, was created with the help of the public who brought old newspapers to fit into the structure.

The building has been installed as a piece of public art in Gillet Square in Dalston, Hackney.

The house, more than 12ft tall, aims to highlight the need for recycling.

On Monday the artist erected the wooden structure in a local church and residents were encouraged to bring and place newspapers into it.

Train companies donated about two tonnes of newspapers left by commuters while another 10,000 papers were collected by Project Freesheet.

The project was undertaken by a group called Creative City and funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Mr Erek said: "Newspaper House covers our era's three aspects - news, paper and house... and also brings communities together and people contributing into the construction and adding into the piece in a physical active way."

He added that the rain would help congeal the paper turning it into an "even stronger and more solid material".

"Even things that don't have value can be transformed into artwork and it could be something beautiful," he said.

Nargis Khan, cabinet member of Hackney Council's Community Services, said: "Newspaper House is a really great example of how public art can bring communities together and actually raise the profile of issues like recycling and reducing waste."

The house was on display until Sunday after which it will be recycled.