El Anatsui, a Ghanaian artist based in Nigeria, has been featured on the Time Magazine list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
He is the only Ghanaian on the list and is listed in the ‘Artists’ category alongside other notable names such as Michael B. Jordan, Ali Wong, Salma Ayek Pinault, Zoe Saldana, Simone Leigh and Suzan Lori-Parks.
The list includes categories such as icons, leaders, pioneers, titans, and innovators, and also features US President Joe Biden, football stars Lionel Messi and Kyllian Mbappe, King Charles, Salman Rushdie, and Olena Zelenska.
El Anatsui is regarded as one of the most impactful artists of our time, with a unique approach to sculpture that involves experimenting with diverse materials to create new sculptural forms.
His work is showcased around the world, and he has upcoming commissions at London’s Tate Modern.
El’s generosity of spirit is also noteworthy, with a remarkable propensity to support other artists and individuals in his community in Nsukka and across Nigeria.
El Anatsui’s sculptures defy categorization and are composed of discarded resources such as liquor bottle caps, cassava graters, and newspaper printing plates.
His use of these materials reflects his interest in reuse, transformation, and a desire to connect to his continent while transcending the limitations of place.
Anatsui is renowned for large-scale sculptures made up of thousands of folded and crumpled pieces of aluminium bottle caps, bound together with copper wire, which are luminous and weighty, meticulously fabricated yet malleable.
Source: Graphic Online
