Lebanese artist creates Saudi Arabian flag using plastic bottles in a show of solidarity

Chaptini has used hundreds of plastic bottles to create a mosaic of the green-and-white Saudi flag in a gesture of solidarity with the people of Saudi Arabia. (@carolinechaptini)

CAIRO: A Lebanese environmentalist artist has used hundreds of plastic bottles to create a mosaic of the green-and-white Saudi flag in a gesture of solidarity with the people of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.  
Caroline Chapitini has been a Guinness World Records title holder for several artistic projects in which she uses plastic bottles to create art murals that are concerned with preserving the environment in Lebanon. 
This time, Chaptini's art  - which is a recreation of the Saudi Arabian flag - was an acknowledgement of recent talks between Lebanon and the Kingdom. 
“The flag is an expression of appreciation to Saudi Arabia and its people,” she told Arab News. 
“The Kingdom has many investments here in Lebanon where many of my country’s citizens work,” she added.  
Chaptini said she received several positive reactions from Lebanese expats in Saudi Arabia.   
“I felt I had to reaffirm the Lebanese people and specifically the expats in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere across the region have nothing but love for other nations and would never associate themselves with remarks that disrespect any group of people.” 
The Saudi flag will be her first to work on in a mosaic project that includes 50 flags and symbols created from plastic bottles to promote peace between nations.  
Using 760 green plastic bottles of a popular soft drink, Chaptini used a cutter to dismantle the bottom of the bottle to take that flower-shaped plastic piece to make the green background of the Saudi flag.  
She also used white plastic bottle lids for the Arabic inscription and the sword. 
The flag created is 1.5-meter-long and 3.56-meter-wide. Its total size is around 5.25 square meters.
Chaptini said her project has no political intentions, and is not supported by any governmental body.  
Chaptini is Guinness World Record title holder following the achievement of the tallest plastic bottle sculpture resembling a Christmas tree in 2019. She also set a world record last year with a massive mosaic image of the Ramadan crescent moon using a million bottle caps.
Her projects aim to encourage recycling in Lebanon, which is among the countries considered to have a massive excess of plastic bottles and containers. 
She also uses the proceeds that come from selling plastic collected by her to charitable organizations. 
She said that any sums she is going to raise from selling plastic bottles would be donated to nurses who lost their houses or were unable to pay the rents of their homes in the aftermath of the Beirut Port explosion.