ABLAZE 

ABLAZE, 2019
1800 x 1800 mm
Oil on digital collage on board.

The work “Ablaze” by AD-Reflex, refers to the artificial paradise of consumption in a work that is resolutely in the here and now. It is very telling of our times through its objects and its products, the multiplicity of consumer goods that fill our contemporary daily lives, and those who subvert them through their continuous plastic recycling efforts.

Plastic recycling is a source of livelihood for many of the most vulnerable citizens of South Africa, and it also helps in optimizing the use of limited resources. As the global movement away from single-use plastics gathers momentum, South Africa continues to make significant strides in its PET plastic recycling efforts. In countries like Nigeria for example, overwhelming amounts of electronic ware are piling up in landfills across cities like Lagos. Also referred to as Waste from Electrical Equipment (WEEE) or simply ‘e-waste’, it involves discarded items such as computers, phones, printers, televisions and refrigerators.

“Ablaze” is marked by a visual complexity, where a Baroque-appearing vision converge with the diversity of contemporary elements in one common motif, which unifies them and renders them indivisible. Poetry, beauty and riots of colour cast a spell over the landscape of rubble and plastics, plucking them away from the solemn destiny of our reckless, consumerist society. “Ablaze” functions on many levels. The work is at once an ode to the Baroque culture of consumption, a celebration of visionary individuals correcting wrong-doings to the environment, and the triumphant spirit of transformation. 

In the world of AD-Reflex, everything can mix with everything; everything is possible and in perpetual transformation. Triviality mingles with glamour, banality with sophistication, and despair with beauty.