![\"5594fdc9e03ef6261fb606780fd01b60\"](\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/5594fdc9e03ef6261fb606780fd01b60.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA Ghanaian professional artist and illustrator, Serge Attukwei Clottey is making giant strides in the international scene with his works made from discarded gallons.<\/p>\n
His arts are currently being featured in San Francisco in an exhibition dubbed “Hand to Mouth.”<\/p>\n
Hand to Mouth, an exhibition by Serge Attukwei Clottey, is open until 30 April at Ever Gold Projects, San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Below is how the Guardian website captured Clottey’s works:<\/p>\n
The brightly coloured plastic jugs once played a vital role transporting water during Ghana\u2019s droughts.<\/p>\n
Now, they\u2019re creating a new environmental catastrophe of their own.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Seas of discarded yellow, blue and white containers \u2013 referred to locally as \u201cKufuor gallons\u201d after the water crises endured under president John Kufuor in the early 2000s \u2013 have become a troubling part of Ghana\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n
No longer used by local communities, vast quantities of jerry cans have built up on city streets, dumps and beaches, contributing to worsening pollution levels.<\/p>\n
In response to the growing crisis and government inaction, local artist Serge Attukwei Clottey has started using large-scale plastic art installations as a way to draw attention to the issue.<\/p>\n
![\"water](\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/water-shortage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The artist says his aim is to galvanise the local community to combat the large quantities of plastic waste now blocking sewers in cities and endangering wildlife habitats along the coastline.<\/p>\n
Clottey, who has been gathering the containers for more than 15 years, cuts them into small tiles and shapes them over an open flame, later moulding sections together and binding them with copper.<\/p>\n
The process results in what he refers to as \u201cpaint-less paintings\u201d \u2013 large plastic tapestries that also incorporate other salvaged waste items, such as discarded electrical goods or wood, bones and shells gathered from the coastal neighbourhood where he lives and works in the capital, Accra.<\/p>\n
Influenced by local folk art, Clottey says his work is not just a commentary on the human consumption and waste but a much-needed practical response to the endless cycle of water shortages and pollution experienced in Ghana.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery second across the world, someone leaves a faucet running, takes a long shower, or pours out some unwanted water. Every day in Ghana \u2013 where not everyone has access to running water \u2013 the streets are filled with children carrying yellow buckets on their heads, on their way to a fountain,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In recent years environmental groups have focused efforts on educating locals about littering and waste management, however the recurring water shortages complicate the issue as the need for the cans keeps returning.<\/p>\n
\u201cGhana is one of the driest countries and faces some of the most detrimental consequences from climate change and water shortages. Yet the government does nothing, so I have taken it upon myself to educate through art,\u201d Clottey says.<\/p>\n
In the wake of El Ni\u00f1o, Ghana is once again one of several countries on the continent facing further water crises. In Ethiopia, the population is now heading towards its worst drought in 50 years while in Zimbabwe\u2019s president Robert Mugabe has declared a state of disaster.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople do not care to listen about how they should use less water or waste less. Children are not educated about global warming in school, and they are not inclined to take action about the issue,\u201d Clottey says, but he hopes the vast plastic installations will help change attitudes both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Ghanaian professional artist and illustrator, Serge Attukwei Clottey is making giant strides in the international scene with his works made from discarded gallons. His arts are currently being featured in San Francisco in an exhibition dubbed “Hand to Mouth.” Hand to Mouth, an exhibition by Serge Attukwei Clottey, is open until 30 April at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":203418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-showbiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/203418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=203417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=203417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}