Adeyemi creates Waste Panorama

CONTINUING his recycling research, artist and academic, Festus Adeyemi will hold a solo art exhibition titled ‘Waste Panorama’ from September 14 to 24 at Martin Hall Gallery, Loughborough University, U.K.

The doctoral candidate at the School of Design and Creative Arts, Loughborough University, specialising in recycling exhibition, will apply polystyrene’s derivatives, including plastics, serviette-tissue, used receipts, cartons, newspapers, and sacks for what he describes as “colours for creative construction.”

“This exhibition explores the challenges of waste management. Waste as a throwaway or single used article cause problems in the environment,” Adeyemi explained in his Artist Statement.

The Chief Lecturer at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Federal College of Education Technical, Akoka-Yaba, added, “The control policy assists different nations to control the damaging effect in the environment. However, waste management differs between developed and developing countries. While countries like the United Kingdom handled generated waste effectively, developing nations like Nigeria struggle with trash and ecological regulation.”

For his research in the creative reuse of plastic waste, Adeyemi uses Lagos as a case study. “Consequently, creative recycling for waste items, especially in the developing landscape of Lagos-Nigeria, cannot be underrated. This is because it can generate colourants/ink to solve the scarcity of the conventional materials for creativity and create employment which encourages recycling, and campaign against careless disposal of waste in the ecosystem.”

The works he is showing include ‘Plastics World 1’ (repurposed polystyrene, plastics, serviete papers, used receipts and collage on printed world map space), ‘Lockdown Couple’ (repurposed polystyrene, serviete papers, newspaper cuts, receipts and general waste on canvas) and ‘Nok Conversaton’ (waste from repurposed polystyrene, serviete papers, collage, texts on canvas space). There is also ‘Shapes 1’ (repurposed polystyrene, acrylic, Loughborough University maps and images, and collage on canvas space)

The artist further explained that the artworks and others aimed at campaigning against poor management of waste and its devastating effect on the environment. “This raises useful awareness about the gains in the reuse, recycling, and repurposing of waste to explore the items and extracts their hidden benefits.”

On the exhibition’s aims, Adeyemi said it is “to minimise the scarcity of art materials in Lagos by repurposing waste as an alternative colourant for creativity. It also seeks to encourage a reduction in toxic waste/unwanted materials by inspiring recycling in the Lagos environment using the exhibits constructed from waste items as a campaign tool, and increase public awareness about the dangers of waste and pollution by encouraging recycling through the creation and exhibition of artworks from the waste.”

The objectives of the research and exhibition include “to demonstrate the inherent worth in waste by generating useful pigments in arts’ activities, raise awareness about waste usefulness through the making of sketches, models, installations, experiments, and large-scale drawing assemblage as exhibits to encourage recycling and combat environmental pollution. It also wants to inspire attitudes that will transform waste as art materials and instruments of creativity.”

Commenting on his art generally, Adeyemi said, “my art speaks about the environment, ecology, waste recycling, and the plight of the people in the developing landscapes. It seeks to be part of the solutions to the encountered challenges, especially in Lagos.”

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