Recently renowned artist and lecturer,
Professor El Anatsui, won the acclaimed Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at
the Venice Biennale. Ghanaian born El Anatsui having worked and lived in
Nigeria for the past 45 years has always been dynamic and outstanding in his
innovative experimentations with especially unconventional materials such as
found or discarded objects.
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| Professor El Anatsui |
The erudite and restless artist during a
lifetime of teaching in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has obviously conquered many frontiers and
broken aesthetic and creative bounds. Having worked extensively with wood,
fabrics, ceramics, paint and all manner of found objects - all built into a unique
oeuvre, this sculptor has accumulated a legacy that is legendary including a
repertoire of shimmering sculptures and, or installations that have toured the
globe in recent times.
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| Relief work by Anatsui |
His latest experimentation which first stunned
the art world was shown also in the 2007 edition of the biennale; it is a
demonstration of the artist’s deep thinking stemming from his awareness and
concern for the environment, the influence of his native Ghanaian fabric
designs, waste to wealth creation, and issues in globalisation as he pieced together
hundreds and perhaps thousands of found
bottle crowns with copper wire.
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| Work by Anatsui |
Three weeks before the commencement of the
just concluded 56th biennale exhibition in Venice, El Anatsui had been
recommended by this year’s curator of the international art exhibition,
Nigerian born Okwui Enwezor. And of course the Anatsui was
well deserving of the honour as the biennale board of directors also deemed him
fit to be adjudged winner of this year’s ‘Golden Lion’ award having considered
the great body of works coming out from the studios of this great artist.
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| 'In the world but don't know the world' by El anatsui |
Considering his achievements and recognition,
the board’s chairman, Paolo Baratta had described
Anatsui as "perhaps the most significant living African artist working
on the continent today." Baratta acknowledged that the artist had
made immeasurable contributions not just on the fantastic works churned out by
him, but also for his great and positive influence over the years on two
generations of artists while teaching and practicing.
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