By Charles Mgbolu
Seeing a litter of beverage cans can be unpleasant to some people, but for 37-year-old Chibuike Ifedilichukwu, this is stumbling on gold!
Ifedilichukwu, from southeast Nigeria, creates portraits by weaving discarded aluminuim beverage cans into breathtaking art pieces.
Wearing thick black gloves and a pen knife, Ifedilichukwu gently prods and twists the sharp edges of curling aluminium as if magically cajoling a snake to bend at will until a life-like image materialises.
Adding value
‘’From industrial activities to individual human activities, waste is being generated on a daily basis and discarded with little or no thought to the effect it has on the ecosystem, our environment. So I chose the path of collecting this waste and adding value to it, which I call upcycling,’’ he says.
Aluminium is one of the most environmentally friendly metals because of its sustainability and capacity to be infinitely recycled. However, they come with their own eco-price if not properly discarded or recycled in friendly ways.
Improper disposal of aluminium waste can lead to soil and water pollution. Burning aluminium waste releases toxic fumes and contributes to air pollution.
Recycling aluminium waste reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and helps conserve natural resources, says the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Garbage load
Ifedilichukwu wanted his art to fulfil two things: create beautiful, lifelike expressions and also contribute to protecting the environment.
Learning to masterfully weave his art was, however, a different kettle of fish. All thanks to his grandmother, whom he grew up with and learned to weave raffia strings into sleeping mats under her tutelage.
Nigeria produces around 32 million tonnes of waste each year. But very little is recycled by firms and individuals.
Ifedilichukwu says he finds the recycling and art work exciting. He starts his art piece by cutting up beverage cans picked up from everywhere—refuse dumps, gutters, and trash bags.
'‘When you are at the waste bin to collect waste, you will face the challenges of people addressing you like you do not know what you are doing; they will see you as a mad man,’’ Ifedilichukwu says.
London exhibitions
He is, however, not bothered by that, as he focuses on picking between 200 and 1,000 beverage cans, depending on the size of his art project.
It is a lot for one man to do, and sometimes he pays people to keep their beverage cans for him.
Once collected, the cans are disinfected and cut into the desired inches, depending on what he wants to work on.
Ifedilichukwu has sold several dozens of his pieces, with some selling for as much as 1,000 USD because of their durability.
So far, he has done over 30 group exhibitions, won several awards for saving the environment, and will be exhibiting in London later this year.
