Striking and sustainable trophies designed by Kurt Jackson

Unveiling this year’s eco-trophies

This year’s trophies have been a creative collaboration between Cornish contemporary artist Kurt Jackson and design for change studio, Leap. Both Leap and the Jackson Foundation, established by Caroline and Kurt Jackson, are previous CSA winners.

Kurt said of the trophies:

“Last year the Jackson Foundation, the environmental art space established by Caroline Jackson and myself in 2014 in St Just, was awarded two very welcome prizes in these [The CSA] awards, one for the sustainability of the building and one for the business itself. It meant a lot to us, and our team, for all our work to be recognised.”

“For these awards I was thinking about sustainability, the health and the future of the environment. The zeitgeist for the last year or so has been the state of the marine environment, which is becoming contaminated with our plastic waste; we are now aware of the need to work towards a more sensible approach to our use and 2018 Eco Trophies disposal of this material, for both our own and the wider planet’s health and future.

With this in mind, I chose the beautiful fish the mackerel. It is an important species in the coastal inshore ecosystem. The mackerel feeds on other fish, so I placed a Cornish pilchard inside the mackerel. Fortunately both can be caught sustainably. My Cornish mackerel was cast in recycled waste acrylic with a Cornish tin (shipwreck tin) pilchard inside and a sprinkle of beach-cleaned mermaid’s tears/nurdles.”

It was then up to Leap, through the eco-trophies side of their studio, to creatively join the dots by calling on eight like-minded businesses – all experts in their fields with a shared passion for creativity and sustainability – to collaboratively bring Kurt’s vision to life.

The process started with a Fish for Thought mackerel, sustainably caught in local Cornish waters and cast sixteen times by Midton Acrylics in offcut, waste acrylic. Kurt’s tin pilchards were embedded in the casting along with beach nurdles collected by Surfers Against Sewage from Cornish beaches.

The acrylic mackerel were then mounted on hand finished, sustainably sourced Pentille Castle oak bases. Shaped and crafted by Koos Furniture with a felt bottom made from recycled postconsumer plastic bottles, before being carefully glued with plant-based resin and finished off with natural petrochemical-free oil.

All bases, including the fine-rubbed display grade Delabole Slate, were engraved locally in Falmouth by Cut by Beam.

Every element of the trophies has been carefully considered to insure they are as sustainable as they are striking. We thank the incredible work and generosity of all the individuals and businesses involved:

Kurt Jackson

kurtjackson.com

jacksonfoundationgallery.com

Leap

leap.eco

Midton Acrylics

midton.com

Koos Furniture

koosfurniture.com

Delabole Slate

delaboleslate.co.uk

Cut by Beam

cutbybeam.co.uk

Fish for Thought

fishforthought.co.uk

Surfers Against Sewage

sas.org.uk