China’s Vincent van Gogh: rubbish collector who taught himself to paint finds fame on social media
- A rubbish collector in China creates works of art on the side and now earns more for selling his work than collecting garbage
- The artworks are created in his tiny flat in Shaoxing which has no running water or bathroom
An impoverished rag picker in southeastern China has been hailed as the country’s Vincent van Gogh after images of his paintings appeared on social media.
Wei Guangming, who is self-taught, only started painting in 2016. The 48-year-old migrant worker’s full-time job is riding a pedicab through streets of Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, to collect rubbish like cardboard boxes and electrical appliances, to sell to a recycling factory.
He earns about 5,000 yuan (US$772) a month from collecting rubbish while getting 7,000 yuan (US$1,081) from selling his paintings, the Metropolis Express reported.
“I paint because of my hobby and also because of money,” he told the paper. “At first I painted as I was always interested in drawing. Later I found it could make money for me. So far I have sold about 400 pieces.”
Wei’s art works are created in his 15-square-metre (161-square-foot) rented flat which has no bathroom or running water.
