Stuart Haygarth (b. 1966)

Stuart Haygarth: 'Back when I first made Drop, in 2007, airport security was very strict about not taking liquids through. I’d been to lots of airports and was thinking about the volume of wasted plastic as people put their half-drunk bottles in the bin, and I wanted to create something that drew attention to this problem. Stansted Airport in London agreed to give me a week’s worth of its plastic-bottle waste, so I drove a big van there and loaded it up. I only used the ends of the bottles, because they’re the most interesting, moulding-wise. That bit is quite sculptural. I used thousands of these ends to create the chandelier in the shape of a water droplet.' (Interview with Christie's, April 2023).