Trash is designer’s treasure
Unique set and costume designs made from recycled materials will be on show at the annual Big Green Expo
Advocating for a culture of re-using and recycling on the theatre scene, textile designer and recent set designer for The Last Straw Audette Jooste - is displaying her unique set and costume designs made from recycled trash at the annual Big Green Expo.
From plastic, cardboard, paper and polystyrene, visitors can take a look at the magic some garbage and a little bit of glue, spray paint and creativity can produce.
“I’m a notorious hoarder and I just hate waste. I suppose that comes from being an art student and not always being able to afford fancy stuff. You become accustomed to saving anything that could potentially be useful and making art out of whatever you have lying around at home,” said Jooste.
“The design brief for The Last Straw was to recycle as much as possible and make sure all the sets and costumes could be re-used and recycled and I was so excited to get started. It slowly turned into a communal project and all the dancers, moms and even dads would sit and make little creatures and corals out of the trash we collected.”
Jellyfish made from plastic bottles, cereal boxes turned into coral reefs, bubble wrap octopuses and a dress made from red and white caution tape are just some of the creations on show at the Expo and Jooste hopes the designs will drive home the message of re-using, recycling and minimising your plastic footprint.
“I’m fairly new to the theatre scene, but from chatting to people in the industry I’ve realised how much gets made new and then just discarded. There are always so many sets and costumes stacked away in storage and just forgotten about. All that stuff just goes to waste,” said Jooste.
“There isn’t really a culture of making sustainable sets and costumes and I really think there should be, because there’s definitely a place for recycled and secondhand stuff when you’re creating.”
According to Jooste, the team begged, borrowed and stole whatever they could, before eventually buying new items.
Jooste said: “One of the moms had made these really cool jelly fish for a party, so we used those and lots of us had leftover spray paint and bits of fabric. It’s about going there first, and using what you’ve got before turning to buying new things and creating more waste.”
While the team hope that The Last Straw will carry on and are planning to stage the play at schools, the Guild Theatre and even the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, much of the set has already been broken apart and recycled, with the rest filling up Jooste’s garage.
“We’ve tried to preserve as much as possible because we’d all really like the show not to end here. We want the message to spread far and wide,” said Jooste.
“I really wanted to show people how it’s possible to create great things without having to spend a lot of money, or create a lot of waste and I’m really grateful for a platform like the Big Green Expo.”
To view Jooste’s work and an array of other environmentally friendly and sustainable products, artworks and services, visit the Big Green Expo from 9am daily at the fields adjacent to Pinecreek in East London this weekend.