Contemporary African Recycled art
Recycled art is one of the most dynamic forms of contemporary art in Africa.
Recycled art is usually recognised as the employment of garbage and found items in the process of making art.
Junk art uses everyday, disposable items in new formats although the original item may not be changed.
Up-cycling functions to promote an idea, pointing to an issue through the utilization of discarded and found items… and by this method, value is added to the final creation.
Anywhere you go in Africa you will see trash… scattered on the sidewalks, piled in the markets, debris discarded in the rivers, plastic bottles floating in the oceans; in fact, most everywhere you look.
At the same time, if you stop and gaze around, you will see the most inspiring recycled art!
Look at the buildings behind you and you will see crumbling walls in paint-flaking decline. Have another glance and you may see street art, graffiti and architectural re-invention that will astonish you: Shelters are constructed from every kind of building material imaginable, patched together to make makeshift homes: An old lady rests in the sun, sitting on her refurbished chair, random materials bound together; converted into something newly useful.
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