Anais Delforge-Mistry

Culture and industrialisation is a prevalent theme within the art industry. El Anatsui is a contemporary artist from Ghana, who uses art as a platform to connect different cultures together and remind people of the past that is often overlooked; the history of colonialism and industrialisation is still affecting the current world today. Anatsui usually uses forgotten and discarded objects, such as liquor bottle caps and aluminium and copper wire. Anatsui’s work is made on a large scale and is often used to reference the deterioration of environments, trade and globalisation, as his art is heavily influenced by the mining in Africa and West Africa’s trading with Western society, such as Europe. During the Colonial era and the Slave trade, countries in Europe such as England and Portugal, use to trade with mostly alcohol. The liquor bottle caps are a reminder of the history that is now discarded and forgotten by society due to commercialism and industrialisation normalising the consumption of alcohol. The colours of the bottle caps are also reminiscent of the traditional Kente cloth and design from West Africa. The Kente Ashanti nation; according to Ashanti legend, two farmers, from the village of Bonwire, were enticed by the design and pattern of a spider’s web and carefully observed how it weaved the web. The two farmers try to replicate this web. It is now a symbolic pattern and design of West African Culture. Although Anatsui does not want to use textiles as his platform, the designs and traditional patterns of the Kente cloths still resonates within his art sculptures through the use of colours and repetition with lines.

Through the use of these bottle caps, Anatsui completely subverts the purpose and meaning of them, these liquor bottle caps are now symbolic of the oppressive and demoralising history. Moreover, by combining individual objects together, Anatsui is also connecting the individual’s life with another; the large sculpture represents a sense of community and the idea that African and Western cultures are still connected through globalisation. This is especially highlighted in his sculpture named, New World Map, where he has reorganised the continents so that they are joined together. This highlights how history has connected all countries together and that it is important to work as a united world, not a divided one. This work is especially pivotal in this modern society, as there are still wars, environmental damage from natural disasters and pollution of plastic and CO2 emission. Especially, with the advancement in technology people still remain ignorant to the fact that industrial companies such as Apple are and have previously been mining countries like Africa for ‘goods’ that can be manufactured and sold to mostly western consumers. In Ghana’s Freedom exhibition at Venetian Arsenal in Italy, 2019, El Anatsui displays a thought-provoking sculpture titled Earth shedding its skin. This piece was used to highlight the illegal mining in Ghana and how the earth is constantly being destroyed by human activity. In essence, this art sculpture is used to create awareness of the deterioration of the earth’s ‘skin’. The animalist reference to the earth having ‘skin’ makes the viewer reflect more on the environment in a different visual way. 

When displaying his work in exhibitions, Anatsui does not use any specific guidelines or instructions on how to install his sculptures, as they are flexible, he chooses not to have a specific presentation for his sculptures. Anatsui says, “By creating a form that is so free and not fixed, you can perhaps bring out the artist in those who would place the work”. His sculptures are not fixed and adapt to their environments; the movement within his work enhances the idea of culture constantly growing and transforming with time, it also enhances the theme of freedom; celebrating Ghana’s independence from the British in 1957. It reminds people that art is not fixed which gives a sense of fluidity with his work.

Ibrahim Mahama is also an artist from Ghana who exhibited his work alongside El Anatsui in the Ghana Freedom exhibition in Italy. Simultaneously, Mahama uses discarded and old materials to create a larger scale sculpture in order to reflect on Globalisation and trading between the Western world and Africa. At the Lightfall, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Mahama presented an overwhelming piece titled "Light fall", which engulfed the architectural building, almost becoming a part of the building and invading the space. Like Anatsui use of the destroyed bottle caps, Mahama transformed used jute sacks that were previously used for transporting cocoa, coffee or coal. They were made in India or Bangladesh, but are then stamped with “Produced in Ghana”. These sacks are withered, battered and are still slowly deteriorating and represent rot and the theme of decay. Mahama stitched these sacks together which represents violence and a sense of forcefulness as he deliberately displayed the stitches. This represents labour and the trading world; capitalism is constantly moving in and out of places like Ghana. Although Ghana has gained independence, Mahama is questioning how free their economy is from the western world and whether freedom is actually prevalent during post-colonialism. In an interview, Mahama says “There is so much decay within the world: sometimes these residues present unconventional versions of freedom that we don’t look at”. Through mundane and disregarded objects both El Anatsui and Mahama focus on the abandoned parts of the culture in this modern world and display how parts of the world are deteriorating. By creating these sculptures on such a large scale, it overwhelms the viewer and evokes people to see the finer details of everyday life and how people should question smaller things in society as they are usually enriched with history and culture. 

Mark Bradford is another contemporary artist who uses mis media on canvas; he layers his work with paint, billboards, newspaper and any paper materials that he can transform onto the canvas. Bradfords work focuses on history and African culture in America. He explores how race can be divided and cultures can be classed as an ethnic minority in a western world. Although Mark Bradford does not use flexible materials like Anatsui and Mahama, he layers individual materials to transform them into one collective piece. He usually finds these materials on the streets or from his previous hairdressing workplace, turning mundane materials into a large scale of artwork. Bradford recently displayed his work at Hauser and Wirth gallery in London. The overwhelming size of the canvases makes the viewer seem so insignificant in comparison to this heep of materials and explosion of colours.

In conclusion, contemporary art practitioners effectively use multi-media and textures within their sculptures to represent history, culture and issues within society on a large scale. By presenting sculptures on a large scale, that do not conform to the traditional use of space; it becomes more of an immersive experience and makes the people become a part of the message and story.