El Anatsui

In 1978 El Anatsui began to work with clay, a material that held a cultural
significance for him. A Nigerian poet Osmond Ossie Enekwe (b. November
12, 1942) wrote a series of poems also entitled Broken Pots (1977) that
laments the consequences of wars—the human suffering, broken humanity,
and the creating of a physical and spiritual wasteland. El Anatsui uses
ceramic shards that he fabricated, broke, and repaired in his Broken Pots
series.
Omen, created with damaged ceramics, might represent the idea of
brokenness and fragility in a time of political instability in West Africa.
The re-forming of the pot-like shape might represent regeneration and
rebirth, while the materials relate to myths and stories Anatsui heard as a
child in Ghana. These pieces are partially repaired in order to suggest that
brokenness does not necessarily result in disuse; rather, through repair,
objects might serve a new function.
Looking and Interpreting
• What do you notice about the surface of this work of art? What textures
and patterns do you see?
• An omen is defined as something perceived or happening believed to
indicate a good or bad circumstance or event in the future. Look closely
at this work. What “omen” might you read in this work?
Connecting and Doing
• Have you ever broken something, only to find a new use for it? What was
it?
• Are there stories that you have heard about rebirth and creation i.e. the
phoenix rising out of the ashes? Create a work of art that illustrates the
story.
• Research more about manganese and its properties. For starters,
manganese is a hard and brittle metal that is both nutritionally essential
and potentially toxic. Its name comes from the Greek word for magic.
Scientists are still working to understand its diverse effects in living
organisms. Manganese plays an important role in the biological process
of healing wounds.
EXPLORING CULTURES, STORIES, AND MEMORY 17