KP — Dumpster Art Project
A project was undertaken under the banner of Wadaan — (NPO) in November 2015 and it took almost a year to do the actual artwork on the waste disposal containers and trucks for the government organization called water sanitation services Peshawar (WSSP). It’s an organization that at the time was in charge of the cleanliness of Peshawar and now other cities as well.
The notion was pursued because at the time we had ample luxury of indulgence and we always enjoyed art being part of any recreational activity that we could get our hands-on. And in Peshawar, there are not really a lot of opportunities for such instances.
The thought of using the waste disposal container as a canvas was not unique as graffiti artists around the world have often made any available space to have vibrant colors bring any object/area to life. But it was supposed to have symbolic meaning that was lost because everyone took this idea so literal in its presence. All the journalists could only ask was there any financial support, or if we were unemployed artists, looking to expand the horizons of our portfolios & etc.
The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) did not approach us but it was an individual that we did know personally at the time who had seen our artwork around town and how we had expressed our feelings of change through colors. At the time, Peshawar had a mood which only accompanied gloom and the idea was to rejuvenate some sort of feeling through art; which was the only solace at the time, I personally felt.
“PEOPLE HATED TO HAVE SOLID WASTE CONTAINERS OR DUMPSTERS IN THEIR NEIGHBOURHOODS DUE TO THE STENCH IT PRODUCED, SO WE DECIDED TO TURN THEM INTO ART PIECES,”
When they introduced new solid waste containers and garbage collection dumpers, the KP government turned it into a cultural statement. To transform lowly dumpsters into art canvasses under the Specialized Solid Waste Collection Fleet initiative — which quite literally flowered and with the introduction of 151 ornate waste bins placed at main points in Peshawar.
What the Grand Trunk Road (GT) Peshawar, the Ring Road, and Hayatabad in Peshawar lacked by way of color was compensated by vivid waste bins daubed with themes borrowed from truck art, Pashtun tradition, images of wildlife, pop culture and transitory patterns.
But dumpsters as art canvasses are supposed to serve a purpose that goes beyond just uplifting the look of the city. And it actually failed at pushing the feeling of rejuvenation, the habits did not change, garbage was put to fire inside the containers, dilapidating the artwork beyond recognition. It was a dream to awaken the feeling inside of those who understood the notion more than just paint, that places that are considered as a lost endeavor can still breathe life into beauty.
