Master waste mask maker of Ghana

With his collection of masks, which generally take Ed Franklin Gavua a day to make, he has created a choir of voices, which he is using to shout out his message that the time has come for the people of Ghana to rethink and get on top of their waste situation.

Hope is a central message of the artist's work. He wants his masks to stay with people and help them become more aware of the need not only to deal with trash diffently, but to treat the natural world with greater consideration.

He makes the masks from a mixture of dry leaves, tree glue, and old cardboard boxes. Once he has ground up all the ingredients, he soaks and mashes them until he has a paste he can reshape into a face. They dry quickly in the sun and are as hard-wearing as their wooden counterparts.

The artist says his work goes beyond trash. He also wants to adress the issue of human waste in the form of those in jail. "We can recycle them too and bring them back to life."

Ed Franklin Gavua says he not only uses the items he finds on the streets himself, but pieces of trash that other people bring to him. "They think, 'maybe Frank can use it,'" he said. And he does, as quickly as possible, for to wait too long means he may never integrate what he finds into his work.

"With my Yiiiikakaii projects I want to raise awareness of the garbage problems in my homeland Ghana," Gavua said. He is also trying to collect money for a recycling project to help clean up the beaches of the capital Accra.

"Each mask is a unique collection of a different mental energy and world outlook," the artist says. "It depicts diverse images that capture and express life in today’s world and does not embody or evoke any negative metaphysical connotation."

"I think the public system can recruit people to show that waste is not waste but a money making venture. I want to show that these things can be avoided by creating jobs through recycling. The recycling dream is becoming exciting."