Is El Anatsui still alive today?
Who is he? El Anatsui is a sculptor from Ghana who currently lives and works in Nigeria. He transforms simple, everyday materials into striking large-scale installations.
What is El Anatsui work about?
Dusasa II
Bleeding Takari IIMany Came Back2005Dusasa I2007Straying Continents2010
El Anatsui/Artworks
Does El Anatsui work alone?
El Anatsui’s Studio Process Because these mosaics would take hundreds of thousands of man hours to do alone, El Anatsui employs a team of assistants who work with him in what he describes as a “collaborative and contemplative setting.”
What movement did El Anatsui work in?
El Anatsui is part of the postcolonial artists’ movement which emerged in West Africa in the 1960s and 70s, dealing with the social, political and historical aspects of the colonial period. His art implicates a wide range of critical observations and is as diverse as his choice of tools and creative procedures.
Who is the most famous visual artist in Ghana?
| El Anatsui | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944 (age 76–77) Anyako, Volta Region, Ghana |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Alma mater | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology |
| Known for | Visual Art, Sculpture |
Why does El Anatsui use bottle caps?
The bottle caps, for Anatsui, signify a fraught history of trade between Africa and Europe. As he explained, “Alcohol was one of the commodities brought with [Europeans] to exchange for goods in Africa. Eventually alcohol become one of the items used in the transatlantic slave trade.
What is anatsui inspiration?
As Anatsui explains, his new series of work was inspired by “huge piles of detritus from consumption,” such as the mountains of milk tins and bottle tops that have been growing throughout West Africa due to limited recycling technology.
How does El Anatsui make his work?
El Anatsui uses resources typically discarded such as liquor bottle caps and cassava graters to create sculpture that defies categorisation. His use of these materials reflects his interest in reuse, transformation, and an intrinsic desire to connect to his continent while transcending the limitations of place.
Where does El Anatsui do most of his work?
EL ANATSUI is a Ghanaian sculptor who has spent much of his achievement-packed career living and working in Nigeria. El Anatsui currently runs a very robust studio practice, situated in Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria, and Tema, Ghana, where some of the most beautiful and touching works of art in the world today are created.
When did El Anatsui become a member of InSEA?
Anatsui was selected to be a member of the International Society for Education through Art (InSEA) world council in 1992 for his work in education. Anatsui was a founding member and fellow of the Forum for African Arts in 2000. That year he also became a member of the International Selection Committee for the Dakar Biennale in Senegal.
When was El Anatsui’s first exhibition outside of Africa?
In 1995, Anatsui held his first solo exhibition outside of Africa in London. He expressed a variety of themes and demonstrated how African art can be shown in a multitude of ways that are not seen as “typical” African. His work utilized conceptual modes used by European and American artists but hardly in African countries.
When did El Anatsui start teaching at UNN?
In 1975, when he had graduated from the university, El began teaching at the Fine Arts Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He taught at UNN for over four decades as a Professor of Sculpture.