Diaspora (for Parkett no. 90)

Born in Ghana in 1944, El Anatsui is widely recognised as one of the most important artists to emerge from the African continent in recent years. Through his practice, the artist transforms material such as wood, metal, clay and bottle caps into striking sculptural forms. El Anatsui moved to Nigeria in 1957 where he began his career by working with wood in a series of burnt, incised and painted panels. Today, the artist is most celebrated for his glimmering mutable bottlecap wall hangings, which are characterised not only by their size but also their fabric like quality and reminiscence of traditional Kente cloth of the Ashanti people of Ghana.

Anyako, Ghana