- Title: The Nigerian artist turning classic cars into contemporary furniture
- Date: 28th June 2019
- Summary: PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BED AND TABLE MADE FROM MERCEDES BENZ PARTS MERCEDES BENZ LOGO VARIOUS OF BED MADE OUT OF A JAGUAR CAR SIDE TABLE MADE FROM CAR PART VARIOUS OF ARTISAN WELDING CAR PARTS TOGETHER ARTISAN USING SOLDERING IRON VARIOUS OF ARTIST, DISEYE TANTUA AND ARTISAN DISCUSSING FURNITURE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST, DISEYE TANTUA, SAYING: "Someone had created a table, an office desk with it, so I felt it will be a good idea using a flat boot with it because it has a flat back to create this space, to recreate my office I used my father's car and ever since everybody is in love with the thing, so it pushed me to using the other parts of the car to make other things and that's how I started." VARIOUS OF CHAIR MADE OUT OF CAR DOORS AND HOOD PAINTING/ BOOK SHELF MADE OUT OF CAR PARTS CAR WHEEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST, DISEYE TANTUA, SAYING: "They are not what you can find any and everywhere, they are special cars which are celebrated, used and celebrated. Sometimes I leave them in their bad shape and try to make sure that there is less rust on it again. I make sure that for every piece of mine you find you would want to go back to it and take a photograph. You would want to be a part of it in some way." VARIOUS OF CHILD ON A BED MADE OUT OF OLD CAR CHILD JUMPING ON A BED PICTURE ON WALL BED LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CAR SEATS IN A ROOM OTOME OKOLO, TANTUA'S CLIENT, WALKING DOWN STAIRS VARIOUS OF OTOME OKOLO, TANTUA'S CLIENT, SAYING: "This is a Mercedes chair by Diseye Tantua also, it gives my house this beautiful look. When I come it's the first thing I see and I'm like wow this chair is very lovely." (SOUNDBITE) (English) OTOME OKOLO, TANTUA'S CLIENT, SAYING: "Aside from having a piece of art that is beautiful, it's useful, it's a relic. We all know from the past that Mercedes Benz is something that Nigerians cherish and something that my father drove, you understand, so there is history there. PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST, DISEYE TANTUA, SAYING: "The finishing I want for my work also determines how it turns out so I spend a lot of time, we've made a lot of mistakes, we've done a lot of things, we've redesigned again got back to the drawing board, work on it. It hasn't been easy and till now I am still learning, I am still trying to get exactly what I want." VARIOUS OF MINI-BAR WITH CAR WHEELS AND SEAT MAN LOOKING AT CAR CHAIR CAR CHAIR WITH INSCRIPTION (English): "TRAVEL AND SEE"
- Embargoed: 12th July 2019 12:15
- Keywords: Car Art Upcycle Sculpture Furniture Car Upcycle Mercedes Benz Jaguar
- Location: PORT HARCOURT AND LAGOS, NIGERIA
- City: PORT HARCOURT AND LAGOS, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA001AL9811Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: This art studio in Port Harcourt, Nigeria could easily be mistaken for a car showroom, but a closer look reveals that is filled with pieces of artistic furniture that give old car body parts a new lease of life.
A bed made from a Mercedes Benz 200 series stands in one corner and another made out of an old Jaguar is displayed on the other side of the room.
The cars being repurposed here are mostly classic models like the Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen Beetle that were popular Nigeria in the 1990s.
The vehicles were sought for their resilience and many people have fond memories attached to them.
However, with the advent of automatic cars, most families are finding it difficult to maintain these classic manual vehicles.
This inspired artist, Diseye Tantua to create a line of unconventional furniture using the vehicles.
He says it was born of a desire to preserve his late father's Mercedes 230E which Nigerians nicknamed 'flatback'.
"Someone had created a table, an office desk with it so I felt it will be a good idea using a flat boot with it because it has a flat back to create this space to recreate my office I used my father's car and ever since everybody is in love with the thing so it pushed me to using the other parts of the car to make other things and that's how I started," Tantua told Reuters.
Tantua started marketing his creations in 2016 after receiving a lot of positive feedback on the table he made out of his father's car.
He began getting orders from family and friends who were also finding it difficult to maintain old family cars.
The 44-year-old sculpts bed frames, chairs, book shelves and wine bars from the vehicles.
In 2017, Tantua hosted a solo exhibition at a car showroom, hoping to spark conversations around "upcycling" and other ways of turning junk into art.
"They are not what you can find any and everywhere, they are special cars which are celebrated, used and celebrated. Sometimes I leave them in their bad shape and try to make sure that there is less rust on it again. I make sure that for every piece of mine you find you would want to go back to it and take a photograph. You would want to be a part of it in some way," Tantua said.
Tantua gets his car parts from junkyards and car owners.
The Applied Arts graduate also buys grounded cars.
His furniture costs between 1,400 to 7,000 US dollars depending on the complexity of the piece and car parts used.
Otome Okolo, a lawyer in Lagos, bought furniture made out of an old Mercedes Benz for her living room in 2018.
She says her dad had a similar car and the seat brings back memories of her childhood.
"Aside from having a piece of art that is beautiful, it's useful, it's a relic. We all know from the past that Mercedes Benz is something that Nigerians cherish and something that my father drove, you understand, so there is history there," she said.
"The finishing I want for my work also determines how it turns out so I spend a lot of time, we've made a lot of mistakes, we've done a lot of things, we've redesigned again got back to the drawing board, work on it. It hasn't been easy and till now I am still learning, I am still trying to get exactly what I want," Tantua added.
Tantua has sold several pieces to homes, offices and top galleries across the country.
He also expresses his creativity through other mediums like drawing and painting.
(Seun Sanni, Nneka Chile) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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