Look: Filipino in Dubai creates Burj Khalifa art from badminton scraps
June 29, 2024
By Expat Media
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Dubai-based architect Dexter Modesto with his unique artwork.[/caption]
“My mother was an overseas Filipino worker in Hong Kong for nearly 20 years before she passed away. I wanted to create a present for her and a tribute to all domestic workers around the world,” Modesto said.
Modesto said he stumbled on the idea of creating art from shuttlecocks after he moved to Dubai in 2008 and took up badminton as a hobby.
“I was at my lowest point in life when I saw these used shuttlecocks scattered on the ground. I was sitting on the bench, waiting for my time to play. I was so depressed that time. I compared my life to the shuttlecocks and thought, ‘We’re just the same, useless’,” Modesto recalled.
A switch clicked in his head. “I decided to use discarded shuttlecocks and turn them into artwork, like how I wanted to make myself useful and great,” Modesto said, “I don’t want my life to be rubbish.”
Modesto’s unique art has been featured in multiple exhibits in the UAE. He has created at least a hundred, he said. One of his artworks went to Viktor Axelsen, a Danish badminton player. Others were bought or given away to badminton enthusiasts in the emirates.
[caption id="attachment_69003" align="alignnone" width="350"] Dubai-based architect Dexter Modesto with his unique artwork.[/caption]
Currently, Modesto has his hands full again. He has been commissioned to make a portrait of Scottie Thomson, a basketball player for popular Philippine team Ginebra. He is also creating a portrait for Filipina actress and model Kim Rodriguez. He plans to organize a fresh exhibit for his artworks this year and donate proceeds to charity. “Badminton is an expensive sport and these shuttlecocks only get used once before they are thrown away. I want my artwork to inspire recycling while also showing people that no matter what state their life is, there is always a bright side,” Modesto said. PIA/Expat Media [caption id="attachment_69002" align="alignnone" width="350"] Dubai-based architect Dexter Modesto with his unique artworks.[/caption]
Filipino in Dubai creates Burj artwork from scraps
DUBAI – A Filipino architect in Dubai has created a Burj Khalifa artwork using scraps of discarded badminton shuttlecocks. “It is my advocacy to recycle badminton shuttlecocks and turn them into a work of art,” Dexter Modesto told Expatmedia.net in an exclusive interview. He has been spending most of his nights painstakingly dismantling shuttlecocks and piecing them into a whole new art as lofty as the world's tallest tower. It took him two weeks and more than a hundred shuttlecocks to create the artwork. He finished it on April 19, just in time for his late mother’s birthday. [caption id="attachment_69001" align="alignnone" width="350"]Currently, Modesto has his hands full again. He has been commissioned to make a portrait of Scottie Thomson, a basketball player for popular Philippine team Ginebra. He is also creating a portrait for Filipina actress and model Kim Rodriguez. He plans to organize a fresh exhibit for his artworks this year and donate proceeds to charity. “Badminton is an expensive sport and these shuttlecocks only get used once before they are thrown away. I want my artwork to inspire recycling while also showing people that no matter what state their life is, there is always a bright side,” Modesto said. PIA/Expat Media [caption id="attachment_69002" align="alignnone" width="350"]
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