Great Upcyclers #4: Johnson Zuzu

Artist Johnson Zuze is an absolute genius when it comes to upcycling junk into art.

    

Zuze is one of the most decorated emerging talents in Zimbabwe. He has won a number of awards including Waste No Waste at The Italian Embassy in 2015, Young artist prize Heritage Exhibition National gallery in 2014, the first prize in Sculpture at No Limits, First Floor Gallery Harare in 2013. Zuze has also enjoyed three nominations for the National Art Merit Award. Selected exhibitions include the United Nations World Tourism Conference, Zimbabwe Olympic Committee's Friendship Through Sport, and his epic solo show Gutter Rainbows. 

He collects from dumps in his hometown of Chitungwiza, about 30 km south of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. He is fighting hard to raise awareness about protecting the environment - not by words but through visual artistic expressions. 'What I do is I collect items of urban junk either from street corners or landfills and I give them new existence beyond their primary use into a poetic justice dimension,' Zuze explains. 

His latest piece titled Save and Protect, is an art installation resembling a full-size elephant completely made out of recycled materials.

The whole structure, which took him more than five months to complete, was erected without any welding but with hand fastened wires only. The only tool involved was an angle grinder. 

The sculpture is made partly of snare wire used by poachers and other recycled materials such as glass and ceramic items. It highlights two pressing issues - recycling and the protection of wildlife. 

Zuzu's interest in recycling was sparked after the burning down of his family house in 2009 and he went through the remains to express himself. He collected metal items such as spoons and wire and created a work called Beautiful Struggle. He said the work was meant to portray the image that hope can still be found even in unimaginable situations.