El Anatsui

Liverpool, and then sent it back to Africa. For me, the
bottle caps have a strong reference to the history of
Africa.” – El Anatsui
In 2002, Anatsui was walking in the area surrounding
the university and stumbled across a stash of tops from
schnapps, whiskey, wine, rum, gin, brandy, and vodka
bottles produced in West Africa. He took the tops back to
his studio and began to affix them together much as he
had done with the milk lids. The result was astounding.
The gold, red, black, and blue colors and images blurred
into each other forming a tapestrylike metal wall
sculpture. Though many have compared his works to
West African cloth, when he found the tops, one of the artist’s first thoughts
was of the history of migration and consumption. In this recent piece,
Anatsui continues to use these materials in new and surprising ways.
Looking and Interpreting
• Notice the different areas of the sculpture. What makes them different?
How are each of the areas created?
• Look carefully of at the materials used in this sculpture. What brands can
you make out?
Connecting and Doing
• Research the history of the brands of the bottle tops that Anatsui uses.
Some of the companies have European origins with factories in Africa
which produce their products for West African consumption.
• People in West Africa give these brands of liquors used in the sculptures
as gifts to hosts or for special occasions. Are there gifts that you give to
people when you visit or to celebrate special occasions? What are the
reasons why you might give a specific item?
EXPLORING MATERIALS AND PROCESSES 35