Students create giant Boris Johnson artwork to send climate message

A giant installation of Boris Johnson made from recycled t-shirts has gone on display in Manchester.

It has been created by art students to send a message to the Prime Minister about sustainable fashion.

The 30 metre-high artwork is part of an exhibition at Manchester Central, and students say they hope it will help encourage the Government to tackle textile waste and raise awareness of the impact of fast fashion on climate change.

The UK fashion industry produces an estimated 206 tonnes of textile waste every year.

The exhibition, known as the #wakeupborisblanket, was created by four final year students from Manchester School of Art and Manchester Fashion Institute. Amy Ferrier, George Hood, Joe Taylor and Zoe Ward are behind the project.

It was produced from hundreds of recycled T-shirts donated by sustainable fashion brand Eileen Fischer, and took about a month to create.

The installation will feature alongside the work of world famous artists such as Banksy, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, LS Lowry, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, when it goes on display at Manchester Art Fair.

Thom Hetherington, CEO of Manchester Art Fair, said:

"We always like something big that creates an impact and we also like something that's timely."

"I think they've pulled a really powerful piece together about the impact of fast fashion and how we all need to think a little bit more about that environmental impact."

While the figures are debated, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions every year, while it is estimated to use around 1.5 trillion litres of water annually.

Fast fashion is cheap clothes bought and then thrown away as trends change – such as the £1 bikini sold by the Manchester firm Missguided last year.