Made of recycled metal foil bottle-neck wrappers, copper wire

By El Anatsui, Ghana 1998-2001

The traditional narrow-strip woven silk kente cloth of Ghana is a source of pride and receptance of cultural memories.
It is a leitmotif that runs through much of El Anatsuiīs work. He uses it to pursue the themes of memory and loss, particularly the erosion of cultural values through unchecked consumerism,
here symbolised by the bottle-neck wrappers.

El Anatsui (1944-) was born in Ghana but since the 1970s has been working at Nsukka where he is Professor of Sculpture at the University of Nigeria.

Presented by the National Art Collections Fund
Ethno 2002 Af10.1

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