An Israeli expat has managed to forge an empire from rubbish after relocating to the Illawarra and is now touring his wares around the country.
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Keiraville's Oded Prior is the founder of Junkyard Beats and moved to Australia for love just over seven years ago.
When he arrived he discovered two amazing phenomenons in the first week.
"The first one was there were no other junk percussion groups like us," Prior said.
"The second thing I discovered there's a thing called 'household cleanup'. You're surrounded by so many instruments and they're all free and they're all very accessible."
Driving around in a van picking up other people's rubbish from the kerb has raised eyebrows from time to time, mainly because residents couldn't understand why he wanted items that didn't work.
Prior said in his home country the "junk percussion genre" was incredibly popular and almost over-saturated with performers.
"I didn't invent this but it's definitely amazing," he said.
I discovered there's a thing called 'household cleanup'. You're surrounded by so many instruments and they're all free and they're all very accessible.
- Oded Prior
After settling into Wollongong he drew from his background as a self-taught drummer, dancer and actor and created a busking show at first with buckets and pots and pans, before slowly gathering performers for his troupe.
Now Junkyard Beats has grown further with a second group branching off in Victoria called Junklandia.
"We use everything from pots, pans, buckets, boxes, broomsticks, plastic bags, even we use water as an instrument and the oldest instrument in the world which is the human body," Prior said.
"I've always had a passion for collecting things and reusing, recycling, building strange instruments - collect and connect things together."
Prior's next big show is at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre in September, with the family-friendly Box Show.
The artist said it would be extra special as many from his family would be visiting from Israel to see him perform in Australia for the first time.
Children will learn about creative recycling, sustainability and thinking outside of the box with this high energy, imaginative performance combining drumming, dance, theatre and comedy.
Follow the adventures of four characters in a world made of cardboard boxes and junk through a language of gibberish and rhythm - or "rhythmish" as Prior likes to call it.
A deconstructed kitchen and wheelie bins become the greatest drum set in the world, plastic bags are an amazing musical instrument, and the human body becomes a unique sound machine.
The show is touring to more than 50 venues around Australia.
It runs for approximately one hour with no interval and recommended for ages five and up.
Junkyard Beat's The Box Show, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Friday September 30 until Saturday October 1. Ticketing details: https://merrigong.com.au/shows/the-box-show/
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