The World

He calls it ‘plastic fantastic’ — beautiful artwork made out of discarded plastic (Video)

The materials needed to make art can be expensive, too expensive for some. But one artist in South Africa has found away to combine his artistic passion and his love of recycling. Mbongeni Buthelezi collects plastic bags from the streets around his Johannesburg studio and melts them to create a unique kind of art — he calls it “plastic fantastic.”

Arts

South African artist Mbongeni Buthelezi creates beautiful, giant portraits. The material? He uses plastic melted onto canvas.

His lines are often think and heavy — the colors are vibrant.

And that plastic he uses is discarded trash.

Buthelezi collects plastic bags from the streets around his Johannesburg studio.

He calls his art: "plastic fantastic."

This story was orginally produced by our partners at the BBC.