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SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2020
The art of recycling
Brunei-based boutique jewellery designer creates a turtle sculpture out of trash washed up on beach to raise awareness
on the environment.
Daniel Lim
The basic premise of the three Rs -
reduce, reuse and recycle - is deeply
ingrained in the environmental
movement to preserve nature
and resources.
While the COVID19 pandemic
wreaked havoc on the world,
one unexpected beneit was the
spike in the irst ‘R’ - reduce - as
circumstances such as a restricted
travel led to a temporary decrease
in carbon dioxide emissions.
Though the decrease in carbon
dioxide is comforting news amid
the sea of chaos, efforts can still be
made for the other two Rs.
One such effort with regards
to the ‘R’ of recycling was recently
made by Tobias bin Tahal. What irst
started as a way to spend some time
freed up by the pandemic became
an opportunity to raise awareness
on waste management.
Tobias describes himself as a
boutique jewellery designer who
works with precious metals, sea
shells and natural resources to cre-
ate art pieces.
Born and raised in the Torres
Strait Islands, part of the state of
Queensland, Australia, he recalled
how living on a small remote island
trained him to be resourceful in
making full use of natural resources
available to him.
“I started out as a carpenter
when I left school back in 1987 and
I have been building ever since.
When I met my wife, I started mak-
ing jewellery as a stay-at-home dad
to ensure that I could take care of
my daughter,” he said.
He started with carving shells
into ornate pieces of jewellery,
which he has done across coun-
tries he visited and stayed in. “Com-
ing to Brunei, I only started carving
(jewellery) again in my second year
here. I started taking courses on
making gold and silver jewellery to
hone my skills.”
As the COVID19 pandemic
swept the nation and the world,
Tobias noted that the shells he
normally use to carve into jew-
ellery started to run out. As he
walked on the beach, he noticed
an abundance of washed up
trash along the shore, which
sparked inspiration.
“I take a lot of morning walks
on the beach, and I saw all the rub-
bish. I decided to build a little trailer
(that is bicycle-driven), to help with
transporting the rubbish.”
That was more than a month
ago. Ever since then, he came up
with the idea to create art with the
rubbish he collected.
“This gave me an idea to cre-
ate a turtle, which is why I wanted
to give it to Azul Beach Café. I know
a lot of people come here and they
can see it, so they can be more
aware of how it rubbish a nega-
tive impact on the environment,”
he said.
His initial concept for the sea
turtle sculpture was to have it made
with a piece of plastic bottle stuck
in its mouth to symbolise it choking
and how plastic bottles negatively
impact sea life. Tobias named the
sculpture ‘Betty Bottletop’.
He is on track to inish another
turtle sculpture. “It’s a little smaller,
and I’m taking my time to get the
shape right because bottle tops
come in different sizes and I have
to sort through them. It is time con-
suming,” he said.
He has another idea to make a
shark out of the same materials.
Tobias also creates other
Tobias bin Tahal with Betty Bottletop. PHOTO: DANIEL LIM
handicrafts such as coasters from
ropes which he exhibited in events
in such as the annual Panaga
Highland Games.
On why he wanted to make the
sculpture and donate it, he said he
wants people to be aware about
caring for the environment. It is
easy to drop rubbish or forget about
it with the ‘out of sight and out of
mind’ mentality.
“The ocean is our life source,
and if rubbish washes in, it kills
animals out there. I hope that this
sculpture will raise awareness that
rubbish doesn’t just disappear. We
can do our part in reducing the
trash we create.”