The MILK Bottle People Project

Frankton library’s MILK bottle project is about celebrating diversity within our community.
Over a series of craft workshops (or by taking a kit home), Queenstowners are invited to create their own ‘bottle person’ or totem, representing who they are and where they’ve come from.
Inspired by Christina Darras’ 2019 Bottle People installation at Craft Victoria (Melbourne, Australia), the project encourages conversations and ideas around our identity, belonging and kinship.
Greek artist Christina Darras created more than 700 ‘people’ from recycled plastic bottles and paper-mâché. The idea was inspired by seeing many people – and plastic bottles – swimming and floating in the Mediterranean sea. Her 2019 art installation represents people trying to find a safe place to live and addresses themes of overpopulation and migration.
“[Fellow librarian] Kay Turner showed me this video of Christina Darra’s project and we were in awe of it,” explains Library Assistant Natasya Zambri, “I was inspired by the brilliance, simplicity and the colour, as well as the intention behind her work.”
Natasya contacted Christina and asked if the Queenstown Lakes community could do a similar project, inspired by Bottle People. Christina agreed.
“We’ve tweaked that a little bit and called our project the MILK Bottle People, with MILK standing for Messages of Identity, Life and Kinship.
“We want to hear all of the stories of migrants. We’re breaking that stigma around the word ‘migrant’ too – it’s a broad term that applies to anyone who has ever moved, right from one region to another within the borders of their own country, or from one country to another in a different part of the world.
“It’s been refreshing to have conversations with New Zealanders who have moved from Auckland or Wellington to Queenstown […] or with people brought up in Queenstown who have a family history of their grandparents arriving here.”
Everyone is encouraged to create a bottle totem at workshops held at the Frankton Library and the new Te Atamira arts centre.
In the workshops, people will be able to select a recycled bottle and they’ll be shown how to plan and create their design. All materials will be provided. Take-home kits, with step-by-step instructions, are also available.
Each artist will then fill in a form, sharing their personal stories of migration, identity and kinship.
The resulting collection of colourful bottles will be exhibited alongside each creator’s story at Te Atamira from 15th to 19th of June.
The project aims to celebrate our region’s diversity and individuality through the powers of art, ideas, stories and experiences. Natasya hopes that everyone, regardless of where they’re from or their artistic ability, will join in.
“Anyone can do this, regardless of their artistic ability or where you’re from […] really, it’s a community project for the whole Queenstown Lakes District. Come along and create a bottle!”