A young Winterveldt artist has found a healthier way to use the alcohol that once broke his family, to reconstruct his troubled past.

Thabiso Thabethe, a visual artist, singer and instrumentalist, said alcohol destroyed his relationship with his father and turned once thriving communities into zombie towns.

Thabethe created the Bottle Art Collection to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

For the collection, Thabathe invited locals battling with alcohol addiction to pose for him while he made portraits using wine as his paint.

Thabethe said his father battled the demons of alcohol abuse for many years.

He said he was lucky that he himself was not “driven to drink” has he had a good support structure during childhood.

“Even though my father was taken away by alcohol I had an art mentor, Tshepo Maponyane, who took me under his care and become my father.”

“Maponyane taught me a lot and was the only man I looked up to.”