Pretoria based artist Tshepo DD Maponyane is a dustbin artist using his skills to create environmental art… encouraging people to keep the streets clean.
Tshepo DD Maponyane started his dustbin art in 2010 after he received a scholarship in Bali, Indonesia. He decided to paint dustbins and charge a small fee, the money raised helped to pay for his flight to Bali.
Tshepo is an environmental artist, using his works to make statements about the current environmental and political climates we are all facing. The dustbin artist paints various statements onto drums and bins. Each piece has a powerful voice and at the same time collects litter. When asked what his inspiration is he says,
“I do this as an ode to my mother. She was a domestic worker and raised me to clean up after myself in whatever instance,”
He has hosted a number of solo exhibitions, the first one being in Indonesia and then another in Pretoria in 2013. Currently, Tshepo has been doing commercial pieces to help raise funds for another solo exhibition in South Africa.
“I wish people could realise that this is the only planet we have. Littering and pollution are the result of ignorance and carelessness,”
His dustbin art inspires people to keep the streets clean. His next work will use street art and nature to draw attention to protecting the environment.
“Pretoria has an abundance of Jacarandas. When they’re in bloom, it’s an amazing sight. I want to use that to show the importance of protecting the environment.”
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