The Nigerian artist weaving waste into stunning portraits

DW (English)

Chibuike Ifedilichukwu produces colorful life-size portraits of amazing quality, using old tin cans or plastic waste. His artworks are a powerful statement: Waste is not just a problem, it’s also a valuable resource.

Transcript

00:00This is not your everyday clean-up mission.

00:06Chibuike Ife Dilichuku is collecting discarded cans and there's no shortage of them littering the streets.

00:15He's going to turn them into pieces of art, large-scale images of iconic figures and celebrities.

00:23If we don't use these beverage cans, I believe it's part of waste.

00:31It's going to cover the surface of earth one day.

00:34It might cause harm to aquatic life, it can cause harm to humans.

00:40The artist uses up to 1,000 fragments of cans, depending on the size of the artwork.

00:47First, he rinses and disinfects the cans he's collected.

00:51Then, he cuts them into strips and weaves them into portraits.

00:57Some 50 to 60 million tons of aluminum waste are generated globally every year and several hundred thousand in Nigeria alone.

01:07But it's also one of the most recycled materials.

01:11Chibuike's art has even attracted attention within the drink industry.

01:15This portrait was commissioned by the Managing Director of Unilever in Ghana, Chris Wolf-Caesar.

01:21He supports Chibuike's upcycling mission as a way of reducing waste.

01:26Cans need to be disposed of once they are used in the right way.

01:31And so please do not just litter the environment with it, please dispose appropriately.

01:38Chibuike Ife Dilichuku describes himself as an environmental artist

01:43and his creative process as a form of solidarity with the suffering of the planet.

01:50It's still part of the journey.

01:52The pain our environment would have conceived or taken, I'm taking it to save the environment.

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