BUILD Environmental Sustainaility Awards 2023 | 8 Best Recycled Material Artwork 2023 - London Michael Connell is a person who has embraced art and creativity all his life. He studied art at Waltham Forest College, continuing on to undertake a course in Spatial Design at the Kent Institute of Art and Design. Since then, he has spent over thirty years working in the construction industry, a trade which has given him the opportunity to indulge his passion for collecting a plethora of left over materials to use in his art. One of his favourite places to obtain materials for his projects is in the on-site skips, from where he salvages many a useful object. Michael is particularly proud to use sustainable and recycled materials in his art. This might include wood, sash-cords, pipe cladding, polystyrene, broken glass, or any number of other discarded remnants he can find to help bring his visions to life. He is currently hard at work, concentrating on building up a body of work large enough to exhibit. This is hardly a new experience for Michael though, as he has exhibited much of his work in galleries already, stretching all the way back to 2005. At home, his shed Povera is an extension of his art, and indeed an extension of Michael himself. He is often to be found deep in solace in his shed, in the evenings. Povera was named in honour of the avant-garde art movement that emerged in south Europe during the late 1960s. The name translates as impoverished art, and recognises the fact that they, like Michael, used repurposed industrial materials as an integral part of their design aesthetic. Michael’s art is very contemporary in nature, and encompasses abstract forms in his own unique style. There is no limit to the scale of his art, which with Povera turns his whole garden into a canvas ready to be experienced. The fusion of art and nature is a strong theme in his work, with Michael taking inspiration from the world he sees around him. He describes Povera as “art within art”, using waste materials to create something new and unique. Michael has become a well-known figure in the community, through his art, although he feels that oftentimes the platforms for local artists just aren’t there. He would love this to change, as he knows the positive impact art can have on a community. Sadly, this is usually overlooked, especially when it comes to artists of colour, who particularly seem to lack the funding, guidance, and support required to spur them on to success. There is no consistent support for the wealth of talent that exists in the more urban areas of the capital, it seems, with the only prominent platforms happening far away from the local community. Michael Connell is an artist who makes good use of found objects to create imaginative and creative works of art. He might be familiar to avid viewers of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, Shed of the Year, having featured in the programme finals in 2016 with his shed Povera. He is also a regular on the local Catford Arts Trail, having participated for the previous six years, enabling people to visit and experience Povera for themselves. “I am just a physical instrument bringing out what Nature, Spirit and the Universe transcends to me.” Of course, as a committed environmental artist, Michael would also like to use his platform to positively highlight using recycled materials to create art. He looks at his art as an amplified version of himself that brings his passions to the fore. Micheal is an artist that is currently in remission from cancer, but with Povera he generously allows people to experience his art from the inside out. He is a treasure, who’s spent over forty years collecting choice waste materials to create art that eclipses categorisation. Michael Connell has been recognised as the creator of the Best Recycled Material Artwork 2023 – London, in the Environmental Sustainability Awards. A huge well done to him, we look forward to many future exhibitions and can’t wait to see what he creates next. Company: Michael Connell Artist Web Address: michaelsart.co.uk Contact Name: Michael Connell Instagram: michael_bajan Nov23395
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