Exploration of Waste Material in Sculpture Using Crown Corks

Abstract

aste constitute major environmental problem in Nigeria today. Some of these wastes are locally generated while others, mainly e-waste, are deliberately imported by Nigerians out of ignorance. Our culture of consumerism is another factor that contributes to increase in waste found in our country. This situation calls for effective management from various experts. Visual artists were not left out in the attempt to deal with the hydra-headed problem. Their approach, known as “waste to wealth†philosophy do not only help to combat waste but has also made people to see beauty/ aesthetics in waste, in line with Martin Heidegger’s theory on perception and phenomenology, basically, any object exist as a perception of the mind. Given the dynamic nature of waste recycling/exploration, the researcher focused on the exploration of crown corks. The researcher undertook a lot of literary research, covering both published and unpublished works. He also embarked on several sculptural experimentation which in the end yielded new styles, media and techniques. Other information gathered from both primary (oral) and secondary sources contributed immensely to the success of the project. The work reveals that waste to wealth philosophy could also be extended beyond visual arts to areas such as architecture and engineering, this will open more fronts in the war against waste.