Disposal of plastic waste is gradually becoming a big problem for many African nations. In many African nations, food, water and drinks are sold in plastic containers and because there is no proper disposal method or recycling, the used materials pose a greater risk to the environment.
In West Africa, Ghana has officially banned the use of light plastics due to the inability of the country to recycle or dispose of it properly. The ban will take effect in 2016.
But in the south of the continent, somebody is turning the waste plastic products into a useful material. A South African artist, Mbongeni Buthelezi, is collecting used plastics and heating them to make some sort of a paint that he uses to do his art works.
According to local media reports, Buthelezi is a regular exhibitor on the local and international art scenes for almost 20 years; he has been hailed as one of the country’s most innovative artists.
“I use rubbish to create something beautiful from it. I collect something that has no value and give it new life. That’s what we can do with ourselves and our lives,” Buthelezi told the BBC Africa Service.
According to Buthelezi, he chose to work with plastic during his art school days as a way to draw attention to the medium and as a way to stand out in the often crowded local art market. The combination of the tangible method of sculpting plastic on to canvas was also a way for him to work through his creative process.
His artistic process involves melting down strips of colored plastic onto the canvas surface. The creation process is simple and not well structured but the final artistic works look very nice, and the messages they carry are very clear.
Art lovers are said to be highly impressed with his innovation. Environmentalists have also praised him for saving the environment from the discarded consumer plastics. Apart from gaining attention with his innovation, his art works also make bold statements about the world. He addresses social and environmental issues bothering the society.
He told the Euronews in an interview, “With watercolor and other mediums… that I have experimented with in the past, there was a time where I felt that I’m hitting the ceiling, I’m not growing anymore. I wanted to be noticed and I wanted to catch attention, because I knew also that I’m moving into a career where you have to be really special to be able to even make a living out of it.”
In 2010, the Live Out Loud website said Buthelezi’s work, “reflects humanity’s often detrimental impact on the environment, but his original use of discarded objects to depict an often forgotten group of people truly sets him apart.”
Buthelezi said he believes the melted plastic method is a way to make art creation easily available to anyone who wants to experiment but who may not be able to access or afford traditional art materials. This, he said, will make art cheap and attractive to the young ones in the society.
Buthelezi has won many local and international awards including the prestigious Mail & Guardian Green Trust award for commitment and contributions to the environment with social conscience and creativity.
Currently, he is a fellow at the Omni International Arts Centre in New York City and for the South African National Arts Festival. He has also been commissioned to make exclusive works by Mercedes Benz-South Africa and the Daimler art collection in Stuttgart, Germany.
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