El Anatsui

Hi Everyone!

Today, I am going to tell you about a very popular and known artist, El Anatsui, and his breathtaking art. This is because we will be working with him in the upcoming months as he displays his recent art at the ROM. Not only will we see his work but we will be able to add some of our own. It's an honor and I'm glad to be able to participate in it.




El Anatsui is a world known sculptor in the world of art. Not only is he a sculptor but a professor that has been teaching at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, since 1975. He is known for his creative and mesmerizing sculptors.

El Anatsui was born in 1944 in Anyako, Ghana. He was trained at the College of Art, University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, Ghana. Although he was born in Ghana, most of his working career was spent in Nigeria. His art has been exhibited and recognized in many honorable galleries across the world; Brazil, Japan, Germany, England, South Africa, the United States and many more.


El Anatsui has worked with many different types of media. Such as wood, clay, ceramic, and most recently, metal. The image above is one of the pieces of his latest work magnificent metallic quilts made of liquor bottle caps. He has taken unused and discarded metal liquid bottle caps, flattened them and stitched them together using wire to make a work of art. Coincidentally, the colours of the caps were similar to those of traditional kente cloths.

Anatsui uses many themes in his art that recur in his artworks, all relating to African history and crafts. His recent message, the message we will work with at the ROM, is about barriers and boundaries of society. He wants everyone to lower the walls; physically, mentally, and emotionally.

His other works include three dimensional sculptures made of scraps he has found, such as food tine, aluminum roofing, metal graters, etc. Though he uses unused materials, he does not think of it as recycling. He believes that he is taking something and making it into something new.


Personally, I am awed by El Anatsui's work. I wish I was able to do what he does with the same passion and skill. I am amazed with the amount of detail and precision he has in his art. My favorite would have to be his most recent work; the quilts made of liquor bottle caps. The quilts are beautiful. I have only seen photographs of his work so I can't even imagine what they look like in reality. After researching and looking at photographs of all his work, I am looking forward to working with him at the ROM. Not only will I learn from this experience, but I will be working with one of the greatest artists of our time.