雙語：用塑料袋當顏料 南非畫家作品驚人

Mbongeni Buthelezi, an artist from South Africa, melts discarded plastic bags and uses the molten material to produce stunning works of art. The 49-year-old has been working with the unique medium for the past 23 years, ever since he graduated from art school。
　　Mbongeni Buthelezi是一位南非藝術家，他會將塑料袋融化，然後用溶解的材料創作一些讓人驚嘆的藝術品。這位49歲的畫家自藝術學院畢業后，在過去的23年間一直用這種特殊的顏料作畫。
Buthelezi said he decided to work with plastic because he wanted to stand out, and this was an innovative, original idea to do that. 「With watercolor and other mediums that I have experimented with in the past, I felt that I』m hitting the ceiling,」 he told Euronews. 「I』m not growing anymore. I wanted to be noticed and I wanted to catch attention, because I knew also that I』m moving into a career where you have to be really special to be able to even make a living out of it。」
　　Buthelezi說他決定使用塑料是因為想要與眾不同，而用塑料畫畫是個創新獨到的想法。「因為過去一直用水彩或一些其他的顏料畫畫，我覺得很生氣，」他對歐洲新聞台說道。「我覺得我沒有進步，我想要引人注目、抓人眼球，因為我知道我要從事的職業，必須與眾不同才能糊口。」
　　According to Buthelezi, his chosen medium also serves as a metaphor for life. 「I collect rubbish and create something beautiful from it,」 he wrote on his website。
　　據Buthelezi說，他選擇的顏料也可以說是在暗喻人生。「我收集垃圾，然後從中創造一些美的東西。」他在自己的網站寫道。
　　Buthelezi』s introduction to plastic happened during a workshop he attended with a Swiss artist who used plastic as a canvas. Inspired by the idea, he started to think of how cheap and readily available plastic is, and how it could be used not only as a canvas, but also as paint. So he collected plastic and started experimenting with a heat gun, applying the melted material onto a black plastic background. He slowly worked on improving his technique, and eventually became an expert at painting with plastics。
　　他接觸塑料正巧是在他參加工作室期間，其中有位瑞士畫家用塑料作畫布。受此啟發，他想到塑料既便宜又現成，它不僅可用作畫布也能當顏料。因此他收集了塑料，用熱風槍開始實驗，將融化的材料塗在黑色塑料畫布上。通過不斷努力提高自己的技術，他終於成為了塑料畫作的專家。
　　He calls his creation process simple and haphazard, but believes that the final pieces speak for themselves. 「I』m interested in finding the details in the painting,」 he told BBC news. He also called himself 「a mirror for the society I live in, and I want to make a meaningful impact on that society。」
　　他說雖然自己的創作過程簡單而隨意，但他相信最後的作品自會說話。「我很喜歡發現畫作中的細節，」他這樣跟BBC新聞說。同時他也稱自己為「其所生活社會的一面鏡子，我希望能對這個社會產生一些有意義的影響。」
　　In his paintings, Buthelezi depicts a variety of subjects – everyday scenes, African history, human portraits, and abstract images. He also makes bold statements about social and environmental issues. He wants the rough texture of the plastic to represent the difficulties of life in South Africa』s townships。
　　在畫作中，他描繪了很多事物——日常場景、非洲歷史、人物肖像和抽象圖像。同時他也就社會和環境問題發表了一些大膽的言論。他想用塑料粗糙的材質代表南非小鎮生活的艱辛。
According to Buthelezi, he is the only artist who works with plastic.Buthelezi』s works have been well received by critics and art lovers alike. In 2010, online magazine Live Out Loud said his art 「reflects humanity』s often detrimental impact on the environment, but his original use of discarded objects to depict an often forgotten group of people truly sets him apart。」 His paintings have been exhibited in South Africa, as well as Germany, the US, and Holland, for years。
　　據Buthelezi說，他是唯一用塑料作畫的藝術家。他的作品受到了評論家及藝術愛好者的好評。2010年，一家名為「Live Out Loud」的線上雜誌稱他的作品「反映了人類對於環境的破壞，同時使用廢棄物品來描繪那些被人遺忘的群體，這一創舉卻讓他成為畫家中的佼佼者。他的畫作在南非、德國、美國以及荷蘭都展覽了多年。

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