Meet Rusdi Badri - Singapore's Creative Recycler Makes Treasure Out of Trash

I found Rusdi Badri on a recycling art website. In truth, I found his recycled aluminum Coke can roses which led me to his blog, and I knew I just had to learn more about the crafter behind the recycled art. I'm always on the rant to repurpose and reuse, and trying to make the world a greener place. Imagine how happy I was to stumble upon Rusdi and his thoughts for a cleaner upcycled world!

Only 22 years old, Rusdi is thinking of creative ways to upcycle and recycle what may be considered trash. Rudi lives in Singapore. He's interested in music and the arts, and currently studying Sonic Arts.

Just six years ago, his hobby was collecting drink cans in his room. A few years later, he donated most of them to charity, but admits he kept a few of his favorites. The cans intrigued him, and one day, the art began.

He explains, "I decided to do something with the cans. I did some experiments. Since I love roses, I decided to design a rose. My first trash-to-treasure project was a rose Coke can." What a keen idea. Imagine a rose that never required water or sunlight. A present for one you love that would never die. Soon his friends wanted one, and people were bringing him cans just so he would make them a rose.

Rusdi continued to create art from recycled products and was sure to share his wonderful creations and progress in eco-art crafts with the rest of the world on his "Funky Trash Recycled Arts" blog site. He's made a laptop cover out of old clothing, a small shoe out of discarded items, and a very detailed warrior sculpture out of Coke among his many projects. Another item is the multi-purpose container that you can make from cans. You can use it for anything from loose change to holding paper clips, rubber bands, jewelry, or small craft items.

Rusdi says, "Recycling is important. The waste that people throw away in my country is just too much. People buy products that involve non biodegradable material from shops and throw it away (without even considering recycling.)" Sadly that problem is NOT just in Singapore, but something we've been struggling with worldwide.

The eco-go-green movement is calling us.

Rusdi now joins a long list of Eco-Artists including myself, who are becoming more environmentally conscious on products they are using to make their art. Rusdi says, "People need to realize that we are consistently damaging the Earth. We can do our part reducing the harm to the world by recycling."

Suffice to say Junk Art, Trash Art, or art from recycled goods is being taken seriously. Everyone knows about the late and famous Joseph Cornell whose art boxes set the precedent for assemblage from found objects. One of my favorite living artists is Mike Esposito, whose work is often featured in the Gallery 364 of Brooklyn, New York. His work includes a giant 8 Ball made of recycled trash, and a United States flag from pen caps and gutter garbage plastic parts to name only a few. I'm astounded at the works of Leo Sewell from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who has been scouring dumps for 50 years to make his fun 3-D assemblage sculptures from trash. From animals to humans, to a life size Statue of Liberty handmade entirely out of junk toys, parts, and things discarded. There's also Harriete Estel Berman whose use of all things tin (old cans, dollhouses) is truly amazing. Her creations include everything from jewelry, assemblage sculptures, and magnificently detailed teapots. All of these artists have credentials that are amazing-and pieces housed in museums around the globe, and a resume any artist can only hope to achieve someday.

Meanwhile somewhere in Singapore, Rusdi isn't waiting for things to change--he's making it happen. He hopes to see a push to improve recycling in his country and around the globe. He says, "There are ways to make recycling fun for kids and get them involved. It's time to do something." Rusdi has plenty of suggestions. "For one, people could be more creative and learn how make their trash into art!"

As an eco-artist myself, I couldn't agree more!

Kudos to you Rusdi for doing your part in making our world a greener place! Find out more about Rusdi and see a tutorial on how to turn your cans into art at his FunkyTrash blog.