The Exhibition
EL ANATSUI – METAL FABRICS
The works on show are examples of spectacular tapestries, hangings made from reclaimed aluminium liquor bottle-tops. Apart from the visual impact of what is made, the works carry messages, meanings, and metaphors, relating to relationships between nations, societies, and people. These art works are to be experienced through all the senses, and not just something to look at. The works are metaphysical transformation of common place things, to higher levels of significance.
The spirituality contained in the works, with its relationship to the earth and environments, are still not fully explored, recognised, nor understood. El Anatsui is the first artist of African origin, living and working on the continent, whose works have received worldwide acclaim, and acceptance at the highest levels.
The Artist
EL ANATSUI was born in Anyako, Ghana, 1944. His early years were spent with relatives, in the rural Ewe cultures, of his grandparents generations.His adult life was immersed in contemporary urban African cultures. In 1975, he left Ghana to begin teaching at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He began making art with clay, wood, and materials discarded in the village. At the beginning of the 21st century, he started working with mass produced cans and bottle tops.
From the early 1990s, El Anatsui visited major biennale in Europe and Africa. His interest was to encounter contemporary art, being made at the highest level. These experiences shaped his aesthetic practice and philosophy, as he worked in Nsukka, Nigeria.
“I think the most important thing is that one is able to reach or communicate, and not necessarily on the basis of ones geography. I think people want to use geography to see whether they can understand you. I have not selected an audience on that basis-the audience is made up of people from all over the world. I think the first thing I do, is to satisfy myself, that I made a statement. And whoever understand it, is a kindred spirit.” El Anatsui.
