What honour could be more befitting for a master artist than to look back over the repository of his 40-year career upon his turning 70?
El Anatsui got more than he bargained for on March 14 when an exhibition titled “Playing With Chance” opened at the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, showing everything, including his bank records.
El Anatsui
Curated by Bisi Silva, who is also the director of CCA, Anatsui’s letters, books, sketches and even bank records were on display for everyone to see. Also on display were old pencils, ink drawings, exhibition catalogues and sales receipts.
A slideshow of his paintings, wood sculptures, time explorations and textiles, as well as a documentary featuring Anatsui’s works, also featured. A handful of his students from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), including Amarachi Okafor (Latest Bags Waxing Strong), Lucy Azibuike (Me in Me) and Nnena Okore (Akwa II), also showed their works.
It was clear to see, even if the artist had not admitted, that at every level of his career, he had taken a chance leading to his foray into a particular aspect of art. The lesson is that risk does pay after all, particularly when it is calculated and deliberate. Aside the diverse works that made the El Anatsui name, there is also on display a handful of his students he has continued to mentor.
The Ghanaian-born sculptor’s career took shape in Nigeria from the post-colonial art movements of 1960s and 1970s Africa and went on to play on the international scene with sculptural experiments with media, form and tradition.
There is watertight evidence in this exhibition that El Anatsui has, over the last 40 years, engaged with and commented on African history, colonialism, the post-colonial condition as well as the daily realities and experiences on the continent. There is no doubt that this exchange will continue.
The exhibition shows till April 17.
