Shanghai Daily News

For Cao Zengxiang, empty pop cans are not just trash destined for the dustbin. "They can become pop art by dipping them into Tempera paint and making creative prints by rolling or stamping them," said the Zhabei Native, pointing proudly to an array of glittering handicrafts made out of disposable soda cans that have been tapped, hammered, dotted, carved or crosshatched.

Wearing a pair of glasses and talking in an unhurried manner, the 53-year-old former carpenter looks more like a gentleman than an eccentric folk artist.

In his huge black leather bag that accompanies him nearly everywhere is an embossing stylus, a small pair of scissors and a razor blade. He said the colorful sheets of flattened aluminum are indispensable. He nicknamed the tools of his trade the "Fantastic Four."

"I have loved doing handicraft since I was a little boy and I can make whatever comes into my mind," said Cao with a smile. "I don't like those things manufactured by mass production. They are course, lacking in imagination and of low quality, usually churned out in a rough and slipshod way by profit-oriented businessmen."

Cao recalled that he made all of his toys when he was a schoolboy.

"I remember I once made a wooden pistol, so elegant and so exquisite that it outshone the ones bought by my classmates from the shops," Cao said with a bright smile.

He even made his own wedding furniture. "At that time in the early 1980s, the furniture I made surprised many of my neighbors because the fashionable style was rarely seen," he said. "That encouraged me a lot."

From then on, Cao become fully engaged in his hobby.

"I've tried many art forms, such as cloth painting, sand painting and wooden sculpture among others."

His 20-square-meter flat in the old downtown area of Zhabei was once full of clothes, metal tools, pigment cups and steel wire.

"These dirty things almost drove my wife mad. She was always complaining about it," he said with shrugs of his shoulders.

"Sometimes it was like hide-and-seek. She threw them away and I collected them and brought them back home again. Quite interesting."

In 1995, Cao found by accident that pop cans were an ideal material.

"They shine like diamonds especially in the light, not to mention that they are cheap. It's also a good way to recycle trash into treasure."

However, it was a difficult start for him. Typically, he produced pieces shaped like animals, flowers, people and even replicas of local buildings, among others.

"The biggest problem I had at first was that I could not find a proper glue to fix the flashy compound metal together."

Cao spent more than two months mixing a special sticky fluid with his exclusive formula after having tried dozens of glues. "It was risky. I once stuck my fingers on a can and, unfortunately, I tore away a patch of skin," he said, stretching one of his digits.

Sometimes Cao himself is confused about the value of his art. His most expensive piece, a replica of the Bund, took two months to complete and it is not for sale. Other pieces costs US$50 to US$100 usually.

"Frankly speaking, the cans are worthless. Some regard it as an art form while many think it is merely trash," he said. "More and more foreigners are quite interested in it and want to buy my work. But I don't know how much to charge.

"Anyway, every piece demands skills, time, technique, creativity and imagination."

Cao emphasized it is a craft that requires patience.

"Fewer and fewer people pay attention to the folk art. They are busy rushing here and there, busy making money and busy attending various meetings without time left to enjoy the beauty of nature and art," he said, shaking his head. "But I will hold on, trying my best to leave something beautiful to the world."