Senator Ojudu’s, centre, with the artists under an imposing Godzilla created from scrap

By Babafemi Ojudu

Recently, I traveled to Ilesa for an engagement and decided to extend my trip to visit my alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University, where I graduated over 40 years ago. Among the places I explored was the Department of Visual and Applied Arts. My goal was to view the works of young students and recent graduates, to glimpse the direction of their creativity, and to discover tomorrow’s stars before their masterpieces become too expensive to afford.

One of the artworks by Ajayi Toyeeb

At the studio, I met Adeleke Adegbola, a third-year art student diligently working on a miniature metal piece. During our conversation, he invited me to visit a waste-material art studio in town. Initially pressed for time, I hesitated, but Adeleke’s persistence convinced me to make the trip.

We drove to the Scrap Art Museum, located on the road from Ife to Ibadan. Established in 2021 by Dotun Popoola, a celebrated scrap artist, the studio is a vibrant space for innovation and sustainability. Though I missed Dotun, who was away in Azerbaijan for an art engagement, my visit led to an extraordinary discovery: the work of Toyeeb Ajayi.

Toyeeb, a 38-year-old artist and graduate of Auchi Polytechnic, specializes in transforming used tires into monumental sculptures. At the Scrap Art Museum, I was awestruck by a massive 24-foot-tall Godzilla, crafted from over 3,000 pieces of motorcycle, bicycle, and truck tires, all secured with 6,000 screws. The sheer scale and craftsmanship were breathtaking.

Ajayi Toyeeb

Toyeeb’s journey is as inspiring as his art. In 2022, he traveled to India for an art residency, where he created an 18-foot-tall gorilla sculpture from recycled tires. Each of his works takes months to complete, requiring immense patience, ingenuity, and an unyielding commitment to sustainability. Through his art, Toyeeb repurposes materials that would otherwise litter the environment or be burned, reducing pollution and protecting the ozone layer.

While recycled tires are his signature medium, Toyeeb also works with discarded metals and other materials to create stunning art pieces. His creative repertoire extends to furniture making and fabrication, with notable patrons such as the late Ado Ibrahim of Igbiraland, who commissioned works now displayed in the palace at Okene.

Godzilla created from discarded tyres

The Scrap Art Museum is not just a workplace for Toyeeb—it is a thriving hub of creativity. Young male and female artists gather there, transforming discarded materials into captivating artworks. The museum embodies the global trend of sustainable art, where beauty emerges from waste, and the ordinary is reimagined as extraordinary.

Among the remarkable pieces on display, a massive metal mask created by Christianah Odunayo, a recent graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, stands out as a masterpiece. Equally captivating is a lifelike parrot built from scrap materials by Usman Badmus, a young artist on attachment at the museum.

If you ever encounter giant sculptures crafted from recycled tires in a Nigerian gallery, there’s a good chance they are the creations of Toyeeb Ajayi, a gifted artist turning trash into timeless treasures.