Homo Detritus: Repurposed Waste Outfits by Ndaku

Congolese art collective “Ndaku Ya Life Is Beautiful” transforms garbage into performance art in an effort to bring attention to the global waste emergency.

Photographer Stephan Gladieu spent two weeks with the art collective capturing their unique creations in the streets of Kinshasa.

Founded in 2015 by Eddy Ekete, the collective includes a range of artists – painters, singers, visual artists and musicians.

“…they have united to denounce the tragedy of their daily lives, the wars that have resulted, the exploitation of women and men that results from it and ferments the unfathomable misery that deprives them of all dignity.

Originally, these artists had one thing in common: they had no resources, no support. Inhabitants of the slums, they naturally found in the garbage an abundant and free raw material. It was Eddy who created the first mask, paving the way for the young artists around him.”

More recycled art via Stephan Gladieu