Recycled Art: Repurposing Trash and Helping the Earth

The Recycled Art Movement has boomed during the past few decades, especially recently when the whole world is searching for new avenues of sustainable development. Exhibitions such as the Recycled Art Exhibition in Flagstaff, Arizona called for artwork made from at least 80% repurposed or recycled materials. Artwork made from recycled or reused materials comes in many forms, including fashion design, sculpture, toys, architectural design, furniture, handicrafts, and more.

Guerra de la Paz, a group of Cuban artists based in Florida, have a highly creative idea for using recycled clothes to create colorful sculptures such as their “Indochine” flower tree and colorful “Indradhanush” (rainbows).

UK-based artist Jane Perkins gets inspiration from anything she can find, including toys, shells, buttons, beads, and jewelry to create amazing sustainable contemporary art representing famous paintings such as “Mona Lisa,” “Girl with the Pearl Earring,” and portraits of Albert Einstein.

Since 2015, Australian artist Michael Dudley, known as the Barefooted Welder, has walked barefoot across landfills and collected over seven tons of scrap metal, with which he creates metal sculptures welded into life-sized or gigantic pieces.

German artist HA Schult, who was referred to as an “eco-art pioneer” by the Washington Post, reuses all kinds of daily waste to create works such as his well-known “Trash People” sculptures, which have stood in front of famous landmarks of ancient civilizations, including the Great Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, and the Roman Amphitheatre.

Recently sustainable architectural design has become a hot topic in the arts and sciences. The Can Cube building located in Shanghai, China is an innovative residential and office building designed by Archi Union Architects Inc. The facade of Can Cube features a unique recycled aluminum wall made of empty soda cans; the wall can be adjusted during the day to adapt to the use of daylight.

The “Print Your City” project in Europe has already used plastic trash to 3D print furniture; in Thessaloniki, Greece people are involved in designing and printing their plastic trash into furniture for use in the city’s public places. What a perfect green design!