Waste to Art Exhibition
‘The concept is simple: send an artist on a trip to find inspiration.’ In 2022, BESTSELLER Foundation partnered with the Jaunt to do just that, aiming to shine an artistic light on textile waste in Kenya and South Africa. We’re excited to show you the results.
About the art
This exhibition features original artworks from the two artists Sizwe Sama Sibisi and Sigrid Calon. The art is inspired by and made from textile waste. Before creating the artworks, both artists visited waste handling and textile repurposing companies to learn more about their practices, resources, and the materials they handle.
These include BESTSELLER Foundation partners such as:
TakaTaka Textile Recycling
BESTSELLER Foundation partnered with TakaTaka Solutions to seed TakaTaka Textile Recycling, turning textile waste into new raw materials while also creating a vast number of jobs. Click here to read more about the project.
Taking Care of Business (TCB) – Remake project
BESTSELLER Foundation partnered with TCB (previously the Clothing Bank) in July 2022 to support the Remake programme. The programme addresses the skills gaps in the creatives industry in Cape Town, South Africa, while solving the issue of deadstock in the textile industry. To learn more about the biggest collaboration of retailers in the world, click here.
The artists
Sizwe Sama Sibisi (South Africa)
Sizwe Sama Sibisi is a self-taught artist, working primarily with left-over textiles for his artworks. He deconstructs the clothes and hand-stitches the materials onto larger-scale fabric works.
During a visit to Cape Town, Sizwe was introduced to the textile sustainability company Taking Care of Business (TCB) to find new materials for his artworks and to learn more about the company.
“It was very inspiring to see how TCB helps and trains low-income community members with business skills. During my visit, I learnt a lot about the textile industry and now I know where unsold clothes from stores and up and how they are processed and recycled.”
Sizwe created two artworks from the textile waste: the first one is an ode to Cape Town and the view from the iconic and omnipresent Table Mountain. Standing on the top gives a wide-open view of the city of Cape Town, and fuelled Sizwe with a feeling of gratefulness. The second artwork is an ode to the gay culture in Cape Town.
‘The Table Mountain View’
by Sizwe Sama Sibisi (South Africa)
Made of textile waste from Taking Care of Business/Remake
“Immediately when I saw the collected textile waste and noticed an old sample book containing brocade fabric samples, my mind was buzzing with ideas, and I couldn't wait to start working with the materials.”
‘Rainbow Baby’
by Sizwe Sama Sibisi (South Africa)
Made of textile waste from Taking Care of Business/Remake
“As a gay man to see other gay people strolling around freely in Cape Town was a beautiful sight. The rainbow colours throughout the work represent the queer community while the baby signifies being born gay.”
Sigrid Calon (The Netherlands)
Dutch visual artist Sigrid Calon (Tilburg Academy of Fine Arts) works with textiles, books, and prints. She was invited to visit TakaTaka Solutions in Nairobi, Kenya.
“It was refreshing and so inspirational to be at a place where everything was a new impression to me. Walking through the streets, you can see that companies like TakaTaka Solutions are necessary in Kenya. I was impressed to see how circular their operation was.”
Sigrid Calon’s sculptural installation consists of a series of textile shapes created from fabric offcuts. Inspired by their original forms and layers, Sigrid is constructing new patterns with the remnant materials to showcase their complexity and layered nature. In an attempt to change the viewer’s perception of value, Sigrid presents the offcuts in a new way, making the waste material valuable once again.
“I see the strength of this sculptural installation within its purity. When you look at the origin of the materials it comes from bulk and it is diminished during the production process, and now here it is treated with the utmost attention attention to the origin of the materials, the shapes and forms created, and the details in particular.”
‘Work in Progress’
by Sigrid Calon (The Netherlands)
Made of textile waste from Rewoven (a textile waste company in South Africa)
“Without using any embellishments to the materials and keeping the pieces as pure as possible I wanted to show the purity and the beauty of vulnerability. Hopefully also inspiring people to take this learning to all aspects of life. How do we value the off-cuts and the leftovers of our productions?”