Steve Weeks

"Hillsides have long proved a popular place for public art – from the 3,000-year-old Uffington White Horse to the randy Cerne Abbas Giant and the spear-carrying Long Man of Wilmington. But now these ancient geoglyphs are to be joined by a new, luminous addition to the canon: Beacon on the Hill, which will turn Long Knoll in Wiltshire into a giant breast. This pink and blue installation, which will perch on the grassy hill in Kilmington like a radiant nipple, is the work of lighting artist Bruce Munro for UK breast cancer charity Cancerkin." — Guardian

Artist creates giant 'nipple' from thousands of plastic bottles to help raise awareness of breast cancer

• Installation of 'nipple of light' has turned a hill into a human breast

• Created to raise awareness of breast cancer and raise money for charity

• The 'nipple' is made from 2,730 plastic bottles which light up at night

By Sara Malm / Daily Mail

PUBLISHED: 19:24, 23 June 2013 | UPDATED: 19:24, 23 June 2013

An unusual piece of art has turned a Wiltshire hill into a giant breast which will light up at night to raise awareness of cancer. Made from thousands of plastic bottles and tiny lights, the 16ft high and ten feet wide orb glows in blue and pink under the dark sky. Artist Bruce Munro created the ‘nipple’ on top of Long Knoll, a large round hill near his home village of Kilmington.

Beacon of hope: Thousands plastic bottles used to create art installation to raise awareness of breast cancer

Bright skies: The installation will light up the night for one week to raise money for charity

Breast is best: The installation near the artists home in Kilmington has been strategically placed to make the

hill it rests upon resemble a giant breast

The likeness to a human nipple and its position on top of the hill is no coincidence. After losing a friend to the disease, Mr Munro decided to build an art installation to raise awareness of breast cancer.

Raising awareness: 2,730 plastic bottles used as lightbulbs in orb, all but 300 have 'sponsored' for charity

In memoriam: The project has been made to honour friend of artist Bruce Munro who died in breast cancer

Night light: It took a team of five people several weeks to complete the bottle orb on top of the hill in Wiltshire

The project will not only raise awareness of breast cancer, but also raise money for charity. The bottles used in the installation can be sponsored and so far nearly 2,500 of them have been ‘bought’, raising thousands of pounds for charity. Mr Munro is renowned throughout the world for his installations using mirrors and lights. He is best known for a series of art projects known as Fields of Light, the first of which was exhibited at the V&A museum in 2004 and the CDSea where he laid out 600,000 unwanted CDs donated from people across the globe in a field near Kilmington.

Hard at work: A member of Bruce Munro's team gets to work ahead of the unveiling of the art project

Bright technique: Orb is lit up by placing thousands of tiny lights in variation blue and pink inside the bottles

Lights on: The giant light installation seen from afar during the day

also see Long Knoll

05-07-13