GHANA: CLOTTEY DRAWS ATTENTION TO PLASTIC ART

In response to the growing crisis and government's inaction towards environmental pollution, local artist Serge Attukwei Clottey has started using large-scale plastic art installations as a way to draw attention to the issue.

The artist says his aim is to galvanise the local community to combat the large quantities of plastic waste now blocking sewers in cities and endangering wildlife habitats along the coastline.

Clottey, who has been gathering the containers for more than 15 years, cuts them into small tiles and shapes them over an open flame, later moulding sections together and binding them with copper.

The process results in what he refers to as “paint-less paintings” – large plastic tapestries that also incorporate other salvaged waste items, such as discarded electrical goods or wood, bones and shells gathered from the coastal neighbourhood where he lives and works in the capital, Accra.

Influenced by local folk art, Clottey says his work is not just a commentary on the human consumption and waste but a much-needed practical response to the endless cycle of water shortages and pollution experienced in Ghana.