Turning trash into treasure

18 August 2009

Aishath Shazra

Raw: a majestic scrap metal lion

The deer looked as if it was about to get up any minute and walk off. Except for the fact that parts of its body were rusting and it had nut bolts for eyes. The lifelike creation is just one of many examples of trash turned into treasure at the Maldives Institute of Vocational Education Training (MIVET). The exhibition showcases 15 pieces, including a children’s tricycle transformed into a duck and a majestic lion made from scrap metal.

Sri Lankan artist Prageeth Manohansa, who has mastered the craft of converting junk into art, is currently the artist-in-residence at the National Art Gallery. “My father is also an artist,” he explains to me, “but it was seeing Picasso’s assemblage that sparked my interest in this particular field.”

When junk is part of your art, the collection process must be unorthodox to say the least. The works of art were fashioned from leftover bits and pieces from Muleeage Garage as well as a four-day rummage through the Thilafushi junk yard. “The worst part of the experience was having to ferret through mountains of scrap iron to find what I wanted,” he says.

But, judging from the artworks, Manohansa’s root around was a success. The rooster posing proudly on one leg is fortunate enough to be the only piece with splashes of colour. Its body comprises a wheel, a set of scales and the hub of a ceiling fan. A blue mudguard from a bicycle makes up its feathers, supported by part of an anchor, which is its leg. Its eyes, nuts of course, almost seem to challenge you to disturb its restive pose.

The alchemist: Prageeth at work

Ahmed, a spectator is struck by the rooster’s beauty. He says he thinks a protective coating should be painted over to prevent further rusty degradation. He is overcome by the rooster’s elegance and declares, “Never has trash touched my heart so deeply.”

Cultural blend

The collection is a blend of cultures, combining modern art with a local flavour. “Prageeth’s work area was located on a street where many students pass by,” says Mohamed Hashim, acting head of MIVET. “We had lots of inquisitive students who stopped by and whoever was interested, we let them join the project. It was a very open and fluid environment, not just restricted to MIVET students.”

If the fisherman sitting on an air-conditioning compressor, wearing a hat made from parts of a blender and the rim of a wheelbarrow, could have nodded his head in agreement, I am sure he would have. Maldivian touches were evident all around from the two fishes mounted on a water pump to a dragonfly with wings made from the blades of a fan. Hassan Sabig, technician at the garage and creator of the fisherman, says he jumped at the opportunity to participate. “We rarely get a chance to do something as creative with welding,” he said excitedly.

Shafeea Zubair, a consultant on MIVET, says she has always been amazed by the intellect and creativity of Maldivian youth. “This is a great learning experience for them,” she says. “Look at this art, it’s an opportunity for self-employment in a landlocked country like this where we can’t get rid of waste easily.”

Faces: figuring out the smile

Inspiration

A first of its kind in the Maldives, Manohansa said he found Maldivians were keen to learn assemblage. His own creations, he says, are guided by another part of his psyche.

“What you see is me, and then there is the artist inside,” he says. On his methodology, he says, he either sketches an object then looks for scrap metal or looks at junk for inspiration. The deer was born out of a sketch while the palm tree was trash-inspired.

Minister of Arts and Culture Dr Ahmed Sawad said that when most people looked at junk, they hardly imagined artworks such as these. “This would come as something totally fresh, creating art from junk for Maldivian youth. This is a different fact of creativity; it’s a huge opportunity for youth as both knowledge and technique are needed to produce this kind of piece well.”

Trash, knowledge, technique, Prageeth’s expertise and the eagerness of Maldivian youth have all converged to form these unique objects where trash becomes art.

The exhibition at MIVET will be open from 8am to 4pm from Sunday to Thursday until 30 August 2009.

More photos of Prageeth’ Open Studio from Ahmed Zahid’s blog: