Every time Nigerian artist Akporo Akporode Collins, 38, decides to start a new project, he faces a major challenge: turning a pile of discarded cutlery, specifically spoons and forks, into a work of art.
From his studio in Ajah, a neighborhood that is home to much of the artistic and creative community of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city and its commercial capital, Collins works non-stop to sculpt human figures, animals or abstract cutlery that you like have collected
In a city like Lagos, with a population of 15 million and 15,000 tons of waste generated every day, Collins uses her art to promote environmental sustainability.
“I get most of my materials from trash and it’s interesting and rewarding to use things that people have condemned to trash to create other things. I’m also helping the environment by doing this,” this artist tells EFE from his studio, which is surrounded on all sides by scrap metal.
Collins began working with old cutlery ten years ago while still a student at a polytechnic university in Nigeria’s midwestern state of Edo.
“It all started in 2012, during my final year at university. We had a course on building with metals and they asked us as a requirement to study and research how to make sculptures with recycled materials,” he says.
“That’s how I did my first job with twelve dozen spoons, all pulled out of the trash… And then I embarked on this never-ending journey,” he adds.
Collins has evolved a lot over the years.
At first, he emphasizes, he only created bird figures, but over time he began to delve into other types of subjects.
Two works under construction – a giant elephant, more than ten feet tall, and a giant rhino of similar size – are on display in his Ajah studio.
Pointing to them, Collins says it may take more than two months to complete these sculptures.
The artist was so successful that his works have been exhibited in many parts of the world, including Saudi Arabia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
In fact, more than half of his clients are foreigners whom he has never met in person, but who instead show interest in his work through social media.
None of his sculptures cost less than $5,000.
“My work is in high demand,” he says. I think the main reason people value them is because they’re unique.”
One of the works of the Nigerian artist working with spoons
One of the works of Nigerian artist Abinoro Akporode Collins. EFE/Akintunde Akinleye
“You can try to copy me, but you can never copy me well unless you’re crazy like me!” he jokes.
This Nigerian artist likes all the nicknames his work has earned him: “Mr. Spoon”, “The Sculptor Spoon”… but he insists he does much more than just sculpting.
«Yes, people call me that because they see my work. But I do a lot more than just working with spoons. I draw, paint and do everything… like Pablo Picasso!” he concludes with a big smile on his face.