MBONGENI BUTHELEZI

Mbongeni Buthelezi is a famous South African artist as well as an activist. He was born in 1956 in Johannesburg and is known for plastic painting. Buthelezi uses artworks to support climate action through mitigation. He uses plastics deliberately to minimize plastic waste, that could otherwise have ended up in landfills. Moreover, some of his art artworks were handpicked by the Bloomberg Philanthropies for display during the United Nations COP27 held in Egypt in 2022(creative,2022)The artist is very sincere in his passion for art. He creates positive messages for both the people and the environment.

Mbongeni uses plastic waste as his media. He collects plastic litter from local dump sites and the city streets. He began to use plastics in his early years since he could not afford other mediums such as oil paints (Kanowsky,2022). Mbongeni uses an electric heat gun to melt the plastics, then applies it on canvases. Most of his artworks are highly textured portraits. With the electric heat gun, the artist is able to conserve the environment as this machine does not produce noxious flames into the atmosphere. While recycling plastics and with the use of the electric heat gun, the artist promotes the sustainability of the environment. Moreover, he has been able to display several of his artworks at different global exhibitions. This has not only helped in educating people on the impacts of global pollution, but also in promoting globalization through striking conversations on global stages about plastic waste pollution and how it contributes to climate change.

The artist draws his inspiration to use plastic waste as a medium, from his childhood experiences and his people’s daily activities. In an interview with CNN media, Mbongeni says he used to help his father in grazing their cattle, an important aspect of their lives. He further explains that plastic litter was very common in their grazing lands. Thus, he always felt unhappy to see animals dying due to ingesting plastics.