One Nigerian artist and sculptor is giving waste a second chance by turning used paper, fabric and bric-a-brac into decorative objects and upcycled furniture. He also educates others on proper waste management.
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00:00I want to make people understand that those things that they generate, which has become
00:06a problem, can also become a solution, and I'm doing that through the creation of eco-friendly
00:11interior decals.
00:13My name is Gerald Eben, I'm an artist, a sculptor by profession, and an art cycler by passion.
00:19I'm about to take you on a creative, exciting journey.
00:22Come with me, and let me show you how it is done.
00:41Basically I would say that I give waste a second chance, and I'm doing that because
00:47I want to be among the historic artists that are solving the problem of climate change.
00:55Besides creatively creating eco-friendly interior decals out of waste material, I also train
01:02people on how to see the positive value of waste material, because the essence of what
01:10I'm doing is to change the narrative, is to build a culture where people can begin to
01:16see waste in a positive light, where people can begin to have a proper waste dumping culture,
01:21where people see waste material, and rather than throw it away, they decide to do something
01:26that is positive and useful out of this waste material.
01:40I want to make people understand that those things that they generate, which has become
01:44a problem, can also become a solution, and I'm doing that through the creation of eco-friendly
01:49interior decals, like clivers, lampstands, tables, chairs, wall hangings, different artworks
01:59for aesthetic, functional, and economic relevance.
02:03So things that people have rejected, I use this waste material to create items that can
02:09be accepted by the people who rejected them.
02:21If you want to start up upcycling, there is nothing that is new under the sun.
02:25There is a lot of global knowledge on the internet, so I urge you to browse, look at
02:31what people have done so far with plastic, with papers, and try to see how you can replicate
02:36those creations, and by so doing, you begin to develop that habit of practicing upcycling.