Picasso inspires artists’ recycling drive
dubai — In today’s consumerist world, artists have the responsibility of recycling discarded materials into pieces of art to raise public awareness, according to experts.
As part of the National Geographic’s three-day immersive ‘Local Geniuses’ experience at City Walk 2, four local artists transformed old objects into colourful pieces of art inspired by famous Spanish painter Picasso.
Painting live on a dhow, carpet, fridge and Vespa, the artists combined Arabic artistic elements with Picasso’s cubism to inspire communities to embrace recycling and protect the environment while appreciating art.
Indian artist Shadab Khan painted an old fridge with abstract images of UAE’s landscape including the desert, palm trees and a big mosque.
On the sides, an image of an Emirati man wearing the traditional kandoura and a woman wearing burqa are spotted.
“I wanted to do some work that would relate to the audience and get our message closer to people. I divided the work into abstract images to follow Picasso’s style,” said Khan, a UAE-based resident for the past 15 years.
Recently, she turned her own old wooden table into a huge piece of art marked with big colourful leaves with droplets.
“Our world, unfortunately, is suffering from huge chunks of waste. If every individual did their part in re-using their materials rather than throwing them away we would see a difference in the long run,” said Khan.
She urged parents to recycle old cans, pen holders, bottles or pencil cases to encourage their children to follow the same path.
“If you have an old fridge that doesn’t look good for example, let your children get creative and paint over it. You’ll see it turn into a whole new item.”
As an artist, Khan said raising awareness about recycling through her work is a responsibility.
Echoing similar thoughts was Pakistani Shan Fazelbhoy who was painting abstract cubic images of a man and woman’s faces on a centuries-old carpet to give a 3D effect. She said the art stopped passersby who asked questions and left in deep thought.
“We’ve been getting a lot of feedback and visitors started addressing recycling. People are aware, you just have to bring it to their attention,” said Fazelbhoy, UAE-based artist for 18 years.
She added that as an artist, she recycles old jars and cans instead of throwing them away.
“I paint on them and transform them into reusable pieces,” she said.
Her new piece, she said, combines East in using the carpet as a surface with the Western’s cubic style. “That’s what art is about: bringing worlds together.”
She added that painting in Picasso’s cubism helped take little elements down, before building them up again.
“It’s a new way to approach art and it opens an artist’s horizon.”
Indian Purva Kaushal, who was occupied turning a dhow into a large colourful piece of red, yellow and blue abstracts, said painting old objects is a habit.
Our world, unfortunately, is suffering from huge chunks of waste. If every individual did their part in re-using their materials rather than throwing them away we would see a difference in the long run.” Shadab Khan, Indian artist
“I paint on my fridge and turn my bottles into lamps. Once people follow a creative mindset, they will realise they can do so much with things they would normally
We’ve been getting a lot of feedback and visitors started addressing recycling. People are aware, you just have to bring it to their attention... That’s what art is about: bringing worlds together.” Shan Fazelbhoy, Pakistani artist
discard,” said Kaushal.
She added that art is about turning items into stories.
“Being influenced by Picasso, it showed me the meaning of simplifying shapes, while also taking the risk and being bold. I encourage people to do the same when it comes to recycling,” said Kaushal.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com