From trash to treasure: Artists turn waste into masterpieces

Written by: Ruth L. Navarra

The grand prize winner of this year’s Watsons’ Sustainable Art Competition is a practical man.

Noli Española went to junk shops to scavenge for the materials he needed to complete his art rather than buy new materials.

Noli Española

“As an artist, you have to be resourceful,” he said. Española has already collected enough recyclable materials for a sculpture in preparation for next year’s competition.

He submitted two entries and both of them are now part of the sustainable art exhibit titled, “Reimagine, Recycle for a Better Future” at the Drybrush Gallery at SM MOA Square in Pasay City. The show runs until Aug. 16.

Española’s artworks are titled “Alay sa Inang Kalikasan” and “Yamang Dagat,” and both mixed media on canvas. Both have a green border to symbolize windows that open to the scene before them. “Alay” features barren land against a vibrant blue sky; at the bottom is a lush terrarium being lifted by hands. The greenery spills out of the bottle and plants grow next to it. Interestingly, some of the leaves he used are the herbal plant pakpak lawin, which is the subject of Española’s other artworks.

Competition judges Caesar Sario, Roland Rosacay, Jojo Liao,
Nemi Miranda, Grand Prize Winner Noli Espanola. Sharon Decapia,
Senior AVP for Marketing, PR & Sustainability-Watsons
Philippines and Senior Marketing Manager for Sustainability-
Watsons Philippines Lexie Coloma

“The red circle symbolizes global warming caused by greenhouse gasses. This painting serves as a reminder that we need to be vigilant regarding climate change and how all of us must take care of Mother Nature,” he said during his presentation.

The human touch seen in his work impressed the judges. It emphasized the role of humanity in making a difference.

Whimsical

Sven Wilbur Lim

The runner-up is a sculpture titled “A Cinderella Story” by Sven Wilbur Lim. It takes a whimsical approach in sending its message across. Lim, 35, tried to capture the transformation of Cinderella into her beautiful ball gown. She is caught raising one foot as she fits her glass slipper in while her winged friends delicately lift the ribbons in the air to finish off her look.

Lim used diff erent beauty product bottles to give it structure and body. Some of the product logos are exposed to add depth and texture. He made use of plastic trimmings to create waves under the dress.

“Cinderella’s story is from poverty to royalty, rags to riches. So I made use of waste materials following that idea. Those items you’re supposed to throw out can still become beautiful art,” he said.

To achieve the ivory look for his work, Lim wrapped his sculpture with a Cinderella book before coating it with resin to make it sturdier. The sculpture stands on the same book. This is Lim’s style in sculpture. His other works can be seen on his Instagram @livingpages.

It is the second year Watson is mounting a sustainable art exhibit. It has 34 artworks for this round, featuring 31 artists, according to Sharon Decapia, Watsons senior AVP for marketing, PR and sustainability. The artists are of various ages, too.

“All the artworks will be for sale. All the proceeds will go to the artist. This event was created to help drive awareness and inspire everyone to reimagine, reuse and recycle. Your empty bottles and containers could be turned into something beautiful,” Decapia said. “We know that art and sustainability can be interconnected because art is a very powerful conversation driver.”

Creative freedom

Decapia learned a few things from last year’s competition. Previously, they would provide the materials for the artists to work on. They realized that this limits their creativity and freedom, hence they were given a free hand on the materials to use.

“The only criteria that we required was that they use recyclable materials like bottles and paper and integrate them into their art. We gave them creative freedom in any format, hence you see paintings and sculptures,” she said.

This freedom resulted in different interpretations. Some covered the recycled materials completely with paint like Denise Cacanando’s “Reclaimed Elegance,” made of crumpled paper topped with flowers made from plastic bottles. Other artists made sure to show exactly what materials they used.

Lorna Tagle Margate’s “Mariya Makeover” shows a young lady who learned how to use beauty products, her shopping escapade in full display in front of her. Then there are beautiful assemblages of found objects such as “Recycle Today, Our Future” by Ferdinand Bernales and “Subterranean Oracle XIV” by Ariel Villalobos.

Some of the stories behind the artworks are memorable. Grandjoy Agdigos’ “Panacea I” tells her love story with a specific skincare brand that she swears by, so she exclusively used it for her work. Ann Rachelle Gatdula merged her other advocacy into her work: The sculpture “Love Need No Words” makes use of scrap wood, hair conditioner jars, and hand soap containers to show a mother and her child with autistm. The mother is seen listening to her child’s heart.

The final art showcased is the sculpture “Sunctuary” by Rinald Sotto. The artist died a few days before the exhibit opened.

This year, the prize money was doubled. For the grand prize, Española took home P100,000, and Lim P50,000 as runner-up.

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This article is brought to you by Watsons through Browne Communication.