By Delasi Kekeli

The process of making art comes with its fair share of litter: used brushes, empty paint buckets, and tubes create functional art out of empty containers and studio debris.

This led to the exploration of bags. What happened was that I held a paint bucket by its handle and realized that it looked like and felt like a handbag.

The only problem was that many saw it as a paint bucket because that was its primary function. Art has a way of giving new meaning to existing objects; in this case rather than simply calling it a bag or signing the gallon; I sort ways to make the primary material hidden. So that many who see the sculptural products and wouldn’t even know it’s a “cooking oil gallon” for example, till I told them.

Starting with the box bag, which incorporated old newspapers, ropes, bottle caps, and wood, I went on to create the Awula bag, made out of oil gallons, newspapers, ropes, bottle caps, and paint. I have always admired El Anatusis's approach to creating art out of debris and this inspiration fused with a love for fashion helped birth these.

My biggest struggle has been calling them bags because as an artist I see them more like sculpture, which is a three-dimensional art piece. Also because it sometimes takes more work to create these pieces of art than it does to make some paintings. It takes weeks to create them, as they are not only painted but are cut, hammered, glued, and have components that are tied together.

I love things that give of a rustic vibe, I love things that are aged and that look slightly weathered: old castles, abandoned canoes at beaches, posters peeling off walls, vintage furniture, and items. These references are all present in these works.

In a way, they look as though they were passed down from one generation to another. Just like the aesthetics of ancient African Art in museums and galleries. They are modern African Art pieces that can be carried, and like most traditional art pieces, they have a function and their function, in this case, is to carry valuable items.

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