Art grows out of each particular situation, and I believe that artists are better off working with whatever their environment throws up.
– El Anatsui
The artist El Anatsui was born in Anyanko, Ghana in 1944. He received a BA from the College of Art, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana (1969) and has taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka since 1975.
El Anatsui works with a variety of media, including wood, ceramic and paint as well as discarded, recycled and found materials such as aluminum, wire, paper, bottle caps, etc. His more recent work has focused on discarded metal objects, hundreds or even thousands of which are joined together to create large scale works of art. His manipulation and transformation of discarded materials translates the ignoble into objects of striking beauty and originality. While his sculpture takes many forms but he often works with repeating and modular elements that manifest in flexible wall hangings, or loosely formed objects that they can be shaped and altered in appearance for each installation.
Drawing on the aesthetic traditions of his native Ghana and adopted Nigeria, as well as contemporary Western forms of expression, Anatsui’s works engage the cultural, social and economic histories of West Africa. Through their associations, his humble metal fragments provide a commentary on globalization, consumerism, waste and the transience of people’s lives in West Africa and beyond. Their re-creation as powerful and transcendent works of art–many of which recall traditional practices and art forms–suggests as well the power of human agency to alter such harmful patterns.
Gli (Wall), 2010 Aluminum and copper wire; Dimensions variable Installation at Rice University Art Gallery Photo © Nash Baker Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York © El Anatsui