Gravity and Grace:
Gli (Wall), 2010
Drainpipe, 2010
Seers, 1993, modified 2010
El Anatsui's work is site-specific, meaning it is altered to suit the installation space each time it is displayed, a reflection of his "nomadic" lifestyle. His walks around Nsukka are often mentioned; he transforms the objects he collects on these walks into works that are often about movement. The bottle caps and other metal scraps used in El Anatsui's curtain-like installations are an innovative use of material because of their literal and conceptual connotations. Also, his unique materials prevent his work from being too easily categorized. El Anatsui's "elevation of mundane objects" creates universal statements about movement, links and trade, as well as being a "celebration of performance and chance". The context of works like Drifting Continents is traced to alcohol trade and the subtle connections that link the bottle caps to their sources in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Works like Gli (Wall) are symbols of walls as religious, political and social constructions. El Anatsui made a great statement about this particular piece: "Walls are meant to block views... but they block only the view of the eye - the ocular view. When the eye scans a certain barrier, the imagination tends to go beyond that barrier. Walls reveal more things than they hide." To me, his linked metal installations are also ironic, in a sense. Metal, as a material, is expected to be rigid, fixed, and flat, but his work makes the material appear like drapery – fluid and rippling. This aesthetic corresponds to his love of the nonfixed form - "the artist is not a dictator," he reminds us. His beautiful wall hangings Red Block and Black Block have subtle textural and chromatic variations. In these two works, El Anatsui explores the "monumentality and meditativeness of a single color," that is reminiscent of Rothko and Richter's abstract color paintings.
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Life, Death, and Transformation in the Americas:
The role of the artist in this exhibit is to reflect the connection between the two worlds of life and death. The objects have ceremonial, educational, religious, or other similar purposes to reflect the functions of the universe, like natural cycles of fertility and regeneration. The purpose is to represent the cycle of life and death as a transformation; this cycle is an intrinsic part of the spiritual beliefs and social practices of the cultures. The artists of these objects sought to create a fluid relationship between the supernatural world and the human world. They are sometimes functional, but not in a utilitarian sense - the talismans, vases, masks, pipes, dolls or charms are used for connecting with the spirit. In the more recent objects, the context changes with the influence of Christian beliefs. The objects I was most attracted to were the talismans and charms, since that was the format of my last project. Organic forms and roughness characterized the talismans in this exhibit. I love the idea of these mysteriously private objects that are used in order to ward off evil or bring positivity to one's life. Another interesting element of the exhibit was its mention of psychoactive substances, used by indigenous peoples to acquire an altered mental state – a state of transformation that would allow communication with nature and the spirit world. They used these "hallucinogenic plants [to] produce ecstatic trances that are often characterized by visions of brilliant, swirling geometric patterns, sensations of flight, and the feeling of acquiring animal attributes and capabilities."
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