Yusuf Dongo is a multidisciplinary artist, passionate about ideas around value, their influences, and their implications. Cultural values, and the way they are passed down; Aesthetics, or how presentation can factor into what a group values; and the questioning of value systems. Yusuf often takes inspiration from folklore and fables, and practices upcycling in his work to address his own waste production.

Drawing, painting, sculpture, and facilitation have all been utilized in Yusuf’s practice. Yusuf is primarily a metal fabricator but also works with wood, fabrics, and paper. Scrap materials are prominently featured. Yusuf’s choice of materials probes the veneer of societal value, actively ‘turning trash into treasure, rubbish into ruby.’

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Much of his previous work utilized Nigerian cultural motifs surrounding animals, exploring and reengineering some of the stories they tell with fabrication. His recent collaborative work incorporates Afrofuturist themes, creating more interactive and speculative sites of engagement. Yusuf is interested in contributing to wider conversations around waste and value. He continues to explore alternative scientific and technological means to curb personal and societal waste production and hopes to experiment with scale in the future.