An artist paints canvas using trash

Thin strips of leather replicate strokes of oil paint in the canvases of artist Anita Ahuja, who has used waste products like seat belts and bottle caps to highlight the usability of such objects.

The exhibition "At War With The Obvious", at the India International Centre, comprises 30 artworks in myriad hues, braided together in acrylic and recyclable material which serve as a reminder for utilising waste products wisely and productively.

"This exhibition is a fight of an individual against the waste of the society," Ahuja told IANS.

"I have used waste products like seat belts and bottle caps for the paintings, and have nailed them on the canvas. They are cut in such a way that they look like a part of the artwork, like I have used thin strips of leather strips to look like strokes of paint," she added.

Delhi-based Ahuja is also the creative director of Conserve India, an NGO that aims at fighting poverty through fashion, and upcycles waste materials like plastic, tyre tubes, labels, and seat belts to create the artworks and designer products.

"Waste is more of a resource in our poor country and upcylcing increases the value of the product," said Ahuja who has been working in this field for over 15 years.

All her works have been influenced by the ecology and the social system.

"I am concerned with a deeper understanding of our relationship with the world in which we are generating waste and the people who are involved on a daily basis in collecting and sorting waste," said Ahuja.

"This exhibition is another way of highlighting how waste products can be artistic," she added.