El Anatsui doesn't just create with paint and canvas; he uses what others consider trash, challenging our perception of waste.
https://beyondthesinglestory.wordpress.com/2021/04/03/el-anatsui-2/
Born in Anyako, the Volta Region of Ghana, Anatsui has always been fascinated by art. He started in kindergarten, and twenty years later, he got a diploma in art education from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He even works as professor at the University of Nigeria now.
But while he was getting his education, Anatsui believed everything felt too “western.” There was a significant lack of focus and celebration of their own culture. Some of his influences were Oku Ampofo and Kofi Antubam. A common theme between his favorite artists’ works is that they rejected foreign influences and kept true to their indigenous practices. They took inspiration from their own culture and incorporated it into their art.
An Akan Ohemaa (Queen Mother) at Lunch by Kofi Antubam.
https://artuk.org/discover/artists/antubam-kofi-19221964
Because of this, he started visiting the National Cultural Centre of Ghana, where he interacted with all different types of artists to try to get a fresh perspective, different from the ones at his university. And he certainly succeeded because he was introduced to abstract art.
Anatsui uses materials that “had a life of their own prior to being formed into his artworks.” Basically, his sculptures are made of used materials. Some materials he likes to use are wood, clay, and bottle tops (his favorite).
"When something has been used, there is a certain charge, a certain energy, that has to do with the people who have touched it and used it and sometimes abused it. This helps to direct what one is doing, and also to root what one is doing in the environment and the culture” (link).
Anatsui’s piece made of bottle caps.
Sankofa, meaning “go back and retrieve,” is a theme present in his work. He wants to reference the past but also sees it as a way to look forward to the future. This is exactly what Anatsui wants for Ghana, since it has been so focused on western history in the past, but now he wants to change that. He also expresses the challenge Africa faced during its colonization and uses traditional African textiles to show this.
Anatsui has had a huge career, which can be seen through his various awards and all the exhibits he has done internationally. Some of these include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, and the Arab Museum of Modern Art.
Anatsui wins the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 56th International Art Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia (2015).
https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2015/biennale-arte-2015-leone-doro-alla-carriera
Back in 1992, he was selected as a member of the International Society for Education through Art (InSEA) for his contribution to education and the Forum for African Arts.
Today he still continues to do art and aims to “wake up” the artist in everyone.