Lesson Demo: Flip Flops

One artist from the Ivory Coast in Western Africa, is using trash from the sea to make one-of-a-kind pieces of art. These works have not only attracted the art world in the Ivory Coast, but also attention around the world. The art is not just beautiful, but it also helps to keep beaches clean. 

Beaches In Need of Cleanup

Ivorian painter Aristide Kouame 26, picks up used flip-flops among the garbage on a beach in Abidjan, Ivory Coast to use in his workshop. Source: REUTERS/Luc Gnago

Marine pollution is a big problem all over the world and oceans on every corner of the globe are being filled with trash. According to National Geographic, 80% of the pollution is coming from places on land. The most common types of marine pollution include shopping bags, bottle caps, food packaging, and drink bottles. Plastic trash can take hundreds of years to break down, which means the more this waste builds up, the bigger of a problem it is to animals and humans living in these areas. According to the United Nations, about 13 millions tons of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean each year. In Africa, the two main sources of this pollution are Ghana and Nigeria. The coastline in Western Africa is covered with trash that has washed up on shore, but one artist has found a creative way to fight this pollution on his local beach. 

An Artistic, Environmentally Friendly Solution

Aristide Kouame is an artist from the Ivory Coast, who spends some of his days walking the beaches with a giant trash bag. As he walks, he digs through the waste washed up onto the shore in order to find flip-flops and other materials to make his art. Kouame, who is 26, knows that some people on the beach may think he is weird for walking around on the beach with a giant bag filled with trash, but that has not stopped him from getting his materials. Once he has enough flip-flops, he brings them back to his studio to make the artwork. In his studio, Kouame uses scissors and other tools to cut and shape the flip-flops and also carves faces into some of the shoes. Using the left-over pieces of the shoes he makes his own paints by mashing them into different colors. 

An artwork depicting the portraits of Nelson Mandela made by the Ivorian painter Aristide Kouame. Source: REUTERS/Luc Gnago

Once the flip-flops are cut and the shapes are made, Kouame starts to put the pieces together to make his artwork. Kouame has many different pieces, from large ones of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela to art that looks at social issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Kouame is also known for his large collages, these are works made up of 140 portraits that each show something different. In a short amount of time, the way Kouame makes his art, as well as the finished pieces have gotten the attention of the art community in the Ivory Coast. At local galleries, and other places around the globe, Kouame’s pieces can be found and are valued at more than $1,000.

The way Kouame makes his art is not only inexpensive, but it also helps the environment. Kouame is picking up the plastic and other pieces of trash all over his local beaches and is recycling those materials and making one-of-a-kind pieces of art. As Kouame himself has said, “I make art from used shoes…it’s a way to give life to the objects that litter the beaches.” Kouame sees his work as a way to help the environment.

Kouame’s pieces of art are not only beautiful, but they are also environmentally friendly. They take the trash and pollution that are hurting the ocean and turn it into beautiful pieces of art.