10-week journey that wove pieces of denim into portrait redefining waste [Interview]

When 21-year-old George Njenga, known artistically as Tetra G, began collecting old jeans across Nairobi, few understood what he intended to do with them.

To most, the denim scraps and broken zippers were waste, useless fragments destined for dumpsites. But to him, they were the raw material for a message.

Ten weeks later, those 250 discarded jeans had been transformed into a powerful portrait of the late Raila Odinga, redefining not only waste but also how history can be preserved through art.

Turning waste into art

Tetra G’s creative journey began long before denim entered the picture. As a child, he loved drawing and making things out of whatever he could find. But it wasn’t until 2023 that he truly began experimenting with recycled materials.

My first real experiments with recycled art came when I began working with denim scraps and other discarded materials.

That experimentation marked a turning point, the moment he realised art could carry both beauty and purpose.

What drew him to recycled art was curiosity. “I’ve always been interested in things people overlook or throw away,” he says. For him, discarded materials aren’t lifeless, they’re layered with meaning.

Recycled materials felt more honest and expressive than a clean canvas. They already carry history, texture, and character.

Denim, zippers, and symbolism

When Tetra G decided to honour Raila Odinga, denim felt like the perfect fit. It’s a material associated with resilience, tough, adaptable, and distinctly human.

I chose denim because it’s grounded and familiar. The different shades helped me shape his features without using paint.

Yet it’s not just the fabric that tells the story. The portrait incorporates hundreds of zippers, giving the piece a metallic edge that mirrors the complexity of Odinga’s legacy.

Zippers tell a story of connection and tension; how things can be opened, closed, held together, or pulled apart. The zippers form the finer details, wrinkles, outlines, and shadows, bringing the portrait to life in a way that paint never could.

A portrait of struggle and freedom

The Odinga piece is one of several that form Tetra G’s growing collection of recycled tributes to African icons.

Another feature Nelson Mandela, made entirely from plastic bottle caps. For him, these two figures share more than just fame, they represent endurance and defiance in the face of oppression.

Both of them spent time in jail because they chose to stand up for their people. Their journeys show resilience, courage, and a deep commitment to freedom.

Through these portraits, Tetra G builds a visual record of African resistance. Each recycled material reflects the transformation these leaders inspired, turning oppression into freedom, waste into remembrance.

Art with a message

While his work draws admiration for its visual appeal, it’s also deeply political and environmental. “I see my art as a mix of all three, environmental, personal, and political,” he explains.

He doesn’t just want people to see art; he wants them to think differently about waste and what it represents.

His philosophy connects environmental responsibility to civic consciousness, reminding people that sustainability isn’t just about recycling, but about how we treat each other and our shared history.

Building community through creativity

Behind each of his works lies a network of hands and hearts. Tetra G sources his materials through community collections, involving children’s homes, friends, and local recyclers.

The process is as important as the art itself, a way of teaching environmental awareness through collaboration.

Creating the Odinga portrait took nearly three months of preparation and execution.

I spent months collecting about 250 old jeans and then used 10 weeks to arrange the zippers into the final image

The most difficult part? Capturing expression using materials that don’t blend. “Unlike paint, recycled items have to be placed piece by piece until they tell the story you want,” he says.

When art challenges you back

Not every experiment succeeds. “Sometimes the materials don’t behave the way I expect, colours don’t match, or the structure collapses midway,” he admits.

But rather than discouraging him, those failures push him forward. Each setback becomes a new lesson in patience and innovation.

Beyond the canvas

Tetra G’s next chapter involves scaling up his vision, creating public installations and environmental art projects that blend creativity with community education.

He believes art can spark sustainable thinking across Kenya if people participate in it directly. “Whether someone is an artist or not, they can still take part in collecting materials, arranging pieces, or contributing ideas,” he says.

That sense of shared creation lies at the heart of his philosophy. For him, sustainability isn’t just about reusing materials, it’s about reshaping how people see value.

From 250 discarded jeans, 10 weeks of labour, and a vision of resistance, Tetra G has created more than a portrait.

He’s built a statement, that Africa’s history, like its waste, can be reimagined into something powerful, enduring, and unapologetically alive.