We sometimes forget the wonder that comes from the developing world. The innovation that comes from having so little in one's possession, has inspired the greatest minds to think outside of the box and produce some of the most necessary things we find today. As great or small, there have been many such documented innovations, that may seem small at first, but manifest into greater aspects of society that some may find endearing. I find them ingenious. 

Inspired by last month's National Geographic editorial entitled "Joy is Round," Jessica Hilltout captures the beauty of how the sport of football has inspired young people to become inventors by making their own "magic orbs" from old clothes, plastic bags, yarn, even inflated condoms (well at least we now know they are multifunctional). It depicts a message to the world of how Africa embraces football, as well as how accessible this sport is through salvaged rubbish made into upcycled cherished possessions. 

However, this piece is not merely about my admiration for these clever innovators, but relates to my WASTE obsession, and how Waste has given hope and inspiration to some of the most vulnerable people--children. Hence, the rest of this blog post will highlight some of the crafty ways youths are keeping their wonderment alive through the things/toys they build.

I love the concept of Song Dong's WASTE NOT exhibition, which I have seen twice now--once in New York and the second in London earlier last year. As much as I loved it, my fiance found it to be his worst nightmare. The clutter and hoarder-esque tendencies of the exhibit overwhelmed his senses and drove him into a slight hysteria (sorry honey). However, whilst he saw junk, I saw a cultural paradigm that caused many Chinese to see the almost never-ending potential in items. It also made me think of how we engage with items, and how we are sometimes too eager to discard them. Now it is also part of my Series on Waste.

The exhibition is based on the art of saving and re-using things, which is in line with the Chinese principle of wu jin qi yong – 'waste not'. However, the exhibition is not merely a reflection of this principle, but it is also used as a mechanism for encouraging a familial bond for the artist. After his father died in 2002, Dong collaborated with his mother, who had been collecting items for five decades, to create this installation which comprises of over 10,000 items. These items range from buttons, tubes of toothpaste, plastic bottles, and her husbands old clothes (to name a few). So what does this artistic form of hoarding teach us?...