El AnatsuiThe Deluge, 2021
El Anatsui, one of the most influential artists working on the African continent today, is acclaimed for his monumental wall sculptures made from thousands of aluminium bottle caps, salvaged from Ghanaian and Nigerian liquor and printing industries. These intricate assemblages speak to the layered and often fragmented nature of identity in postcolonial Africa, where questions of belonging remain deeply entangled. Rooted in the weaving traditions of his Ewe heritage, his father was both a fisherman and a master weaver of Kente cloth, Anatsui’s works carry a tactile memory of textile-making while also confronting the environmental and social consequences of overconsumption and industrial waste.
His sculptures occupy an ambiguous space between painting and sculpture, their shimmering surfaces folding and cascading with a mercurial quality. Each installation is unique, shaped in response to its architectural setting and the hands that hang it, reflecting Anatsui’s belief that artworks are not fixed but open to transformation, reinterpretation, and dialogue. The joining of thousands of discarded fragments into a unified, ever-shifting whole challenges traditional notions of form and permanence. In doing so, Anatsui has redefined the language of contemporary sculpture, proposing instead a fluid, responsive object that evolves with time and place.
