Using waste materials collected from nature and urban areas, especially plastic bags, artist Ruken Adıbelli designs costumes and accessories for portraits and music groups, drawing attention to environmental pollution by transforming waste into art through her original techniques.
Adıbelli began collecting plastic waste she encountered during nature walks with her family, and over time, the materials became central to her artistic practice.
She first came into contact with waste materials through costumes she created for a music group that includes her husband and produces instruments from recycled materials. She started by designing vests, shirts, skirts, hats and accessories from plastic bags.
While working on costume design, Adıbelli discovered the opportunity to work with a different material, and she carried this experience into her painting practice, developing a new technique.
Realizing that traditional painting materials were insufficient to fully express her environmental message, the artist began using the transparent nature of plastic bags to create layered surfaces.
By placing plastic bags on top of each other without painting them, Adıbelli achieved new tones using only the materials’ existing colors. Creating effects of light, shadow and depth, she produces realistic portraits. By reinterpreting collage techniques through layered placement, she developed a unique artistic language.
These works, made entirely from waste materials, demonstrate that recycling is possible in many different fields.
In a statement to Anadolu Agency (AA), Adıbelli said that she frequently goes on nature walks with her family, where they encounter a lot of plastic waste, which disturbed them and led them to start collecting it.
She explained: “I felt a responsibility on my own behalf and wanted to express this through my art. My husband is a member of a music group that designs instruments from waste materials and plays them on stage. They asked me to design their costumes from waste materials. I started by making costumes from plastic bags for them. I constantly designed vests, shirts, hats and jewelry for them, but I kept putting my own painting practice in the background.”
She noted that she previously used traditional materials in painting but felt something was missing in expressing her message, which led her to turn to plastics.
Adıbelli explained that working with plastic bags gave her the opportunity to explore a new material: “I decided to do an experiment. The result of this experiment satisfied me greatly. I started these painting works using collage techniques and continued with my own method. I created a new technique by combining two methods, maybe it could even be a first in the world. In collage, you create colors by placing them side by side, but here I also layer transparent plastic bags on top of each other, creating new colors beyond the original color of the bag. Without painting the bags at all, I enabled the formation of new colors.”
She added that she and her family try to protect nature and contribute to zero waste awareness.
“We keep materials thinking ‘we might need them one day.’ We also cannot throw away shopping bags; it’s not appropriate to throw them into nature anyway. We used to store them and use them when needed, but once the idea of clothing came up, I started using them there first. Then they started to run out. When my friends and relatives saw my work, they also began saving them and bringing them to me. Sometimes when we go to parks, if my son sees a flying plastic bag with an interesting color while playing, he picks it up.”
Adıbelli explained that her main concern is plastic waste in nature, which is why she uses various waste materials in her costumes and portraits.
She stated that all her clothing designs are made from plastic waste, and she has also used CDs, bolts and metals. She even collects flare waste used in forests against wildlife in some regions and incorporates them into costumes. She sometimes uses fabric scraps as well, especially textile waste found in areas like Nişantaşı in Istanbul.
She added: “Water bottle caps are everywhere. Now even my son picks up everything he sees on the road, every cap, saying ‘Mom, Dad, this might be useful for you.’”
Adıbelli said people around her have started recycling materials as well, inspired by her work, and some even collect waste and bring it to her. She said she is happy to encourage people toward zero waste.
She noted that her portrait works attract strong attention and raise awareness in viewers. At first glance, they appear to be oil paintings, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear they are made from plastic bags.
“When people look closely, most understand the material, some do not. When examined up close, very fine details can be seen, and people assume they were made with paint. It is a very layered, meticulous and patient process. When viewers realize this, they are surprised that such ‘worthless’ material can become something like this. My exhibitions are very impactful in this sense.”
She concluded by emphasizing her desire to make her voice heard and to encourage people not to throw waste into nature and to contribute to environmental protection.
