El Anatsui (Anyako (Ghana), 1944 - )

TSIATSIA - searching for connection (2013)

Aluminium (bottle-tops, printing plates, roofing sheets) and copper wire, 15,6 x 25 m

"El Anatsui’s monumental sculpture ‘TSIATSIA - searching for connection’, could not have been made without the help of many hands, brought together in partnership to create a work that expresses great solidarity and strength. From his studio in Nsukka, Nigeria, the artist conducts a community of assistants in flattening, folding, and sewing together discarded bottle-tops, creating ‘cloths’ of metallic fabric. While this ‘poor’ material references West Africa’s history of colonialism, trade and slavery, its transformation into art by way of communal care can be seen as a powerful symbol of hope: if we all work together, even our detritus can be turned into beauty".
By October Gallery

Revisiting the Sustainable Development Goals through Art: discover the goals