Mackerel Shoal

Narrator:  

It’s possible to use almost anything to make beautiful things, and also fun things. 

Voice: 

I’ve made beautiful things! And also fun things! I’ve made them out of jam jars, milk cartons and toilet paper rolls!  

Narrator:  

So you have made art too! But now, can you see the big yellow and black ball? 

Voice: 

I’m looking at it right now. With my eyes. What is it? 

Narrator:  

I’ll give you a hint: Have you ever eaten mackerel in tomato sauce?  

Voice: 

No, but I’ve seen my Norwegian friends eat some! 

Narrator:  

The man who made this ball is called Pål Vigeland. He eats mackerel in tomato sauce absolutely every day. And if you are now guessing that the ball is made of tins that used to contain mackerel in tomato sauce, then you’re 100% correct!  

Voice: 

Yikes! That must be a huge number of tins, and really a LOT of mackerel in tomato sauce!  

Narrator:  

Yes. And the crazy thing is that Pål Vigeland ate ALMOST all the mackerel himself, before he cleaned the tins, made some cuts in them, hammered them a bit, and finally stuck them together into an enormous ball.  

(Eating, washing, cutting, hammering) 

It’s almost as if the shiny, silvery mackerel are swimming together again, just like they did in the sea, before they were fished up, filleted, boiled and put in tins. And of course mashed up with tomato sauce. And eaten. 

(Seagulls, fishing reels, boiling, tin can sounds, mashing, eating, belching — very rapidly cut into the previous sentence). 

The title chosen by Pål Vigeland for the metal ball is Shoaling Mackerel. What if it had been your job to choose the title? What would you have called it?