plastic paintings

"i collect rubbish and 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." - mbongeni buthelezi

mbongeni buthelezi is an extremely creative south african artist. his paintings are cut up pieces of waste plastic glued onto a canvas. sometimes they're colourful, sometimes they're not. they're always beautiful though. i was looking at some on google images and they're so gorgeous, they always look different - like a print or a collage or a mosaic. buthelezi got art lessons from another artist in exchange for bread and tea when he was young, how cool. i want to be taught a skill without having to pay for it in actual real money.

my favourite pieces of buthelezi's work are the ones depicting children, especially this one of the girl hula hooping. the fragmented aura around her reminds me of hula hooping really fast on the school playground; feeling so happy and invincible within my own force field. :-)

"buthelezi is not only aware of the environmental tribulations and the physical deterioration of the townships in south africa, but also of the communal and political destitution and defect of opportunities and choices within the country. his goal is to facilitate and communicate hope in the new age through his art pieces." - article