El AnatsuiUntitled III, 2023
El Anatsui’s wooden sculptures form a pivotal part of his practice and conceptual thinking. Working with indigenous hardwoods sourced in Ghana and Nigeria, he employed carving, burning, painting, and staining to transform the surface of the wood. These treatments created layered textures and rich tonal variations, revealing a deep sensitivity to material and form. Many of the works are modular in structure, composed of panels that can be rearranged, introducing a sense of mutability and open-endedness that would later become central to his practice.
Emerging from the artistic context of the Nsukka School, where he taught at the University of Nigeria, Anatsui’s approach was shaped by the institution’s emphasis on synthesising contemporary art with indigenous knowledge systems. The influence of uli and nsibidi visual traditions is evident in his use of symbolic motifs and calligraphic markings, which recur across his carved wooden surfaces. Through these embedded forms, Anatsui explores themes of memory, history, and transformation – particularly the legacies of colonialism and the persistence of African epistemologies.
These works are not simply static wall pieces but carry sculptural presence and conceptual depth. Their modularity, emphasis on surface, and engagement with repetition anticipate the formal strategies Anatsui would later amplify in his iconic bottle-cap installations. In both bodies of work, the interplay between fragment and whole, permanence and change, remains a defining concern.
