Years ago, Tyrrell Winston began scavenging trash around his Brooklyn, NY neighborhood to utilize as materials for his collage artworks and sculptures. Winston is especially privy to using discarded cigarette butts, basketballs, and nets for his latest pieces. Oftentimes, the LA-born creative would walk for miles to collect trash for repurposing — a charitable and meaningful endeavor for the artist who aims to shed light on the stories behind every ditched item he gathers.

“The perfect basketball is weathered and worn. The perfect broken net is a rusted metal chainlink net that is totally mangled. The perfect cigarette to me is a Winston cigarette. I’m biased, my last name is Winston,” he said. “[The cigarette] would have lipstick on it and it wouldn’t be too smashed up. It would still be firm.”

Watch the video above to get a behind-the-scenes look at Winston’s creative process.