El Anatsui at October Gallery
by Ladun Ogidan
From February 12 to March 28, October Gallery will once again present a series of intricate metal sculptures by celebrated sculptor El Anatsui. The artist employs discarded materials such as liquor bottle caps and cassava graters to create remarkable sculptures that defy categorization and challenge long-held views of sculpture being in rigid form. Anatsui’s use of discarded materials reflects his interest in recycling, transformation, and an intrinsic desire to connect to his continent while transcending the limitations of place. Here, the artist, renowned for his large installations—metal wall hangings continues to address social, political and historical issues such as colonialism.
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- Iris, 2012, aluminium and copper wire, 300×310 cm. Courtesy: October Gallery, London
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- TSIATSIA – searching for connection, 2013, aluminium (bottle-tops, printing plates, roofing sheets) and copper wire, 1560x2500cm. Courtesy: October Gallery, London.
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- Skylines, 2008, aluminium and copper wire, 245×825 cm. Courtesy: October Gallery, London
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- AG+BA, 2014, aluminium, copper wire and nylon string, size variable. Courtesy: October Gallery, London
Over the last two decades, Anatsui’s sculptures have increased in size, enhancing the external walls of museums and galleries around the world. Examples include; Ozone Layer and Yam Mound at the Old National Gallery of Berlin (2010); Broken Bridge I, at the Musée Galliera, Paris (2012) and Broken Bridge II at the High Line, New York. In 2013, the Brooklyn Museum, New York staged a major solo exhibition, Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui. His work can also be found at other major international museums including; the British Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), both in New York; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
El Anatsui was born in Ghana and currently lives and works between Ghana and Nigeria.
Ladun Ogidan
Ladun Ogidan is the Deputy Editor of Omenka magazine. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Covenant University, Nigeria. Ogidan is also Assistant Curator at the Omenka Gallery, and Chief Operating Officer at Revilo Company Limited, a leading art publishing company in Lagos. She has co-ordinated several exhibitions at home and abroad.
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