Ruptly
"In an Ibadan studio filled with discarded wires and broken electronics, Nigerian artist Patience Adekunle is transforming e-waste into striking portraits. Footage filmed on June 4 shows Adekunle cutting electrical wire to complete a portrait of a woman. Adekunle said there has not been a day when she has not found electronic wires and cables lying on the ground, discarded on roadsides during her rounds to collect materials for her artwork. “E-waste has become an issue in our immediate environment and in Nigeria at large," she said. Adekunle said she wants her artwork to highlight the idea that discarded materials, often considered useless, can be transformed to convey emotion, resilience and renewal. “When I began to see beauty in discarded materials, in waste, in obsolete materials, in things that we feel like they don't have life again, I began to create artworks," she said. She added, "They are non-functional. They are useless. They can't work again. But seeing them in my artwork, the way I use them, the way I bring them back to life, hope can be restored.” Dr Olanike Onimsi, a lecturer at the Theatre Arts Department at the University of Ibadan, highlighted how art is now becoming a tool to raise awareness about sustainability and conservation. "It can be the agent to create awareness for more people to key into being contributors not to the degradation of the environment but to the conservation of the environment," said Onimsi. As electronic waste piles up across Nigeria, Adekunle is turning toxic materials into powerful visual statements on sustainability, recycling and environmental awareness. Using waste cables, circuit boards and electronic scraps, she hopes to raise awareness about electronic waste ending up in landfills."
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