Serge Attukwei Clottey is a Ghanian artist who coined the term “Afrogallonism” to describe his practice, which includes the process of using gallon-plastic containers, a common material used in Africa, to create his large quilted sculptures, painting them in bright colors like yellow, which represents the transportation of oil. Clottey collects his material on beaches and dump sites. “In Ghana, because of the volume, there is no space to consume them,” he said of the plastic. “We don’t have proper recycling structures. You end up seeing them on the streets and in the ocean.”

These sculptures, like Accelerated Change, 2016, are often installed in large natural environments–a commentary on the environmental destruction caused by overuse of plastics. But Clottey’s work is not apocalyptic–his sculptures are a representation of the ethos behind Afrogallonism, which urges the community to work together and rethink structures to survive. “I want to find ways to inspire people to work with plastic” (Autre Magazine, 2015).

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