Bringing a Message in a Bottle Cap

Oscar Olivares started drawing when he was very young; his favourite subject? Spider-Man. “That was my first motivation,” he says, as I spot an impressive drawing of Spider-Man hanging behind him.

“When I was 14, I began drawing the Venezuelan national football team. And the fans in the stadiums. I wanted to capture their passion.” Self-taught, Oscar studied biographies of famous artists. To Oscar, art was the perfect way to express one’s feelings, thoughts, and identities.

One day, at the age of 17, Oscar experienced a fundamental event that changed his perception of art forever, causing him to ponder how his creativity could be used. 

“When I was 17, I was assaulted by a guy with a gun on my way home from school,” he says, recalling the violent moment when he realised the dark reality of poverty and desperation. Oscar admits that this incident initially made him want to leave the country.

“But after a lot of reflection and meditation, I understood the only thing I had was drawing—my art.” Oscar knew he had to send out a message. “When you study art history and biographies of other artists, you see the principal inspiration of a lot of art movement is nature.” Taking action against climate change through art became one way of bringing his community together and counteracting the hopelessness he’d witnessed.

“In your passions is where you can find the best answer,” he claims. “One artist that especially impacted me was Paul Signac. His style is interesting—he would express elements with small dots, making you see the whole picture when you step away from the painting.”

Inspired by this perspective, Oscar brought Signac’s ideals of totality to a recent mural commission he’d received in the municipality of El Hatillo, Venezuela. “They asked if I could use only bottle caps without painting over them. I was so sure of the impact this would have internationally.”  

The mural was an instant sensation. Today, Oscar’s website and social media showcase various vibrant and immense murals made of plastic bottle caps. There is no painting over or manipulation; the murals are exactly in the colours and condition they came in.  

“We’re working on our mural number 28,” he shares in excitement. “I’m very happy with everything we’ve achieved—especially to see a lot of schools showing this type of art that use recycled materials!”

For Oscar, the process of putting together these murals is more beautiful than the end result. “There are some parts of the mural that are designed for everyone to participate,” he explains. “It’s very nice in the end because it gives the community a chance to be part of the art.”

The bottle caps used are collected through individual contributions or local recycling centres. No bottle caps go to waste. The bottle caps that aren’t used for the ongoing project are either kept for his future projects or donated to organisations such as Fundación Amigos del Niño con Cancer to help raise funds for children affected by cancer. 

Each step of building these bottle cap murals involves a healing message for each community in which his art is displayed.

“One time, a woman approached me with a special football-edition bottle cap that belonged to her late son, who passed away some years ago,” Oscar recalls. “She saw what we were doing and wanted the bottle cap in this special place.” Over the years, more people would often approach Oscar with a bottle cap and a story. “Every bottle cap is human. It once belonged to somebody.” 

“This year, we’re going to achieve 2 million bottle caps collected, and that sounds like a lot, but it’s nothing compared with the plastic that goes to the ocean every year.” Oscar believes that the most important impact the mural holds is its educational one. “People learn that they can use these recycled materials differently. The art helps the awareness spread.” 

Aside from producing artwork himself, Oscar is an art educator. He teaches his students to make art their mission. And a vessel for the message they want to send out to the world. “I always invite students to think, if they’re going to make art, what message will they send through their arts. If everyone on earth can see their art, what is the message they’re seeing?”

Here’s Oscar’s answer to his own question: “I want people to see in my mural what communities can make when they work together. And to see how many bottle caps make up the murals and grow conscious of how many more are being thrown into the ocean.”

Also, for Oscar, opportunities are hidden in things that we see every day. “I want people to see that what can be bad for the environment can be used for something like the murals.”

It is difficult to stay uninspired in Oscar’s presence. He speaks with conviction, inspiring all those around him. “Signac drew inspiration from the sea. I think one of the most important abilities that an artist should have is the ability to observe and to be patient. To really see the world around us.”

And that’s exactly what Oscar did. He took a step back and observed the rapidly changing world, and he saw what the world needed were messages in bottle caps.