UP-CYCLING, WHEN WASTE BECOMES ART
- The idea behind this project is to reuse discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a new product of higher quality or value than the original. This work seeks to transform waste into works of art. The concept, therefore, goes beyond the conventional recycling of materials by creating objects that exceed the economic, cultural and social value of the original product. My main goal with this project is to help our beloved planet to reduce the carbon footprint from take out food container materials like plastic and styrofoam.
- CARLOS EDUARDO PLAZA
- PHOTOGRAPHER / CONCEPTUAL ARTIST
- Venezuelan-born, Carlos Eduardo Plaza moved to the United States in 1992. A graphic designer by profession, he has maintained a lifelong commitment to photography and the visual arts, developing a practice centered on up-cycled conceptual art created from everyday consumer plastics, particularly takeout food containers.
- His work is the result of formative experiences during his adolescence in Venezuela, where he had the privilege of being guided and inspired by masters of kinetic and contemporary art such as Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús Soto, Gerd Leufert, and Gego. These influences profoundly shaped his understanding of art as a perceptual, structural, and transformative experience.
- The conceptual foundation of his work focuses on the creative recycling of plastic takeout containers, straws, and other mass-consumption waste materials, transforming them into works of art that aspire to hang on someone’s wall rather than end up in landfills—or worse, polluting our fragile oceans.
- Through his practice, Plaza proposes not only an aesthetic reflection but also an ethical and environmental one, inviting viewers to reconsider the value of what is discarded and to participate actively in a culture of sustainability and ecological awareness.
- Shown bellow are a few samples of Plaza's up-cycling pieces:
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