Rufai Zakari’s figurative works are made from discarded single-use plastics gathered from the streets of his home country of Ghana. Zakari graduated from Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra, the school where some of his esteemed Ghanaian peers, including Amoako Boafo, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, and Kwesi Botchway, also studied. He also apprenticed under the Accra-based street artist Mozzay. Zakari stitches together scraps of found refuse into striking portraits of Ghanaian women in both traditional and contemporary garb. His practice has garnered widespread acclaim, resulting in his work appearing at exhibitions in London, Accra, and Dubai, among other cities. His work has been acquired by the Arthur Lewis Collection, the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, and the Ditau Collection, among others. In crafting his loving portraits from trash, Zakari seeks to examine the roles that consumerism, pollution, labor, and industrialization play in Ghana today.