Working with caps from liquor bottles, El Anatsui creates densely patterned sculptures that trace a broader narrative around colonial economic exchange and slave trade in Africa. "When the European traders came to Africa for the first time, drinks were exchanged for slaves, who were brought to America to grow more cotton and sugar cane to make more drink and then ship to Europe," says the artist in our "Change" episode. "So, the idea of three continents, and how drink was a link factor between t

Create your own tapestry to hang on your wall! This week’s family art activity is inspired by the works of Nigerian-based artist El Anatsui, who creates large metallic tapestries out of repurposed materials including bottle caps, aluminum commercial packaging, and copper wire. Anatsui twists and folds these materials together to resemble African kente cloth, which is made by weaving narrow strips of fabric into a whole patchworked piece of cloth. For the artist, as the son and brother of profess

El Anatsui creates sculptures made from bottle caps, a found material from discarded liquor bottles. “What are bottle caps? Liquor. How did liquor come into my culture and what does it mean,” asks the artist in our Season 6 “Change” episode. “When the European traders came to Africa for the first time, they brought things like drink. Because, eventually, drinks were exchanged for slaves.” Season 6 of “Art in the Twenty-First Century” is available on YouTube for the first time ever. New episode s

Ikeoha represent El Anatsui (born 4 February 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his "bottle-top installations". These installations consist of thousands of aluminum pieces sourced from alcohol recycling stations and sewn together with copper wire, which are then transformed into metallic cloth-like wall sculptures. Such materials, while seemingly stiff and sturdy, are actually free and flexible, which often h