Artist-Textile, 1988 · El Anatsui (*1944), Ghana/ Nigeria · ID: 3045023
Christoph Ludszuweit, Berlin, Germany
Ludszuweit war von 1983 bis 1988 als Lektor für deutsche Sprache und Literatur an der University of Nigeria, Nsukku, Anambra State, Nigeria tätig. El Anatsui war zu dieser Zeit als “Senior Lecturer” sein Kollege.
Description
cotton cloth, bue paint,
The works from his 1988 limited edition of curtains can be be considered as a pre-stage of the developement of his later wall hangings. In the collection of the Iwalewa Haus in Bayreuth 3 works of this edition can be found. Only eight examples of this edition were made in 1988 by El Anatsui in Nsukka.
Anatsui was born in Anyako, in the Volta Region of Ghana, and trained at the College of Art, University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, in central Ghana. He began teaching at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1975, and has become affiliated with the Nsukka group.
Anatsui’s preferred media are clay and wood, which he uses to create objects based on traditional Ghanaian beliefs and other subjects. He has cut wood with chainsaws and blackened it with acetylene torches; more recently, he has turned to installation art. Some of his works resemble woven cloths such as “kente” cloth but were not intended as textiles, but as sculptures. Anatsui incorporates “Adinsubli” for his works, an acronym made up of uli, nsibidi, and Adinkra symbols,