A Useful Way to Use All These Bottle Tops. FINALLY!

In 2002, while out on a walk, artist El Anatsui found what would become his most recognizable artistic medium…thousands of metal liquor bottle tops. “When I first found the bag of bottle tops, I thought of the objects as links between Africa and Europe,” Anatsui has said. “For me, the bottle caps have a strong reference to the history of Africa.” Over the past decade, Anatsui, a Ghanian who has taught and worked in Nigeria since the late 70’s, has created an extensive body or work which utilizes these tops. Recognized as one of the most influential and notable contemporary African artists, these installations anchor Anatsui’s first career retrospective now on view at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College.

Organized by the Museum of African Art, New York, When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, showcases Anatsui’s ability to create pieces from a variety of surprising materials that are both beautiful and serve as critiques on modern social and political life in Africa. His bottle top sculptures exist as tapestries, huge shiny, booze stained tapestries. “The liquor bottle tops and labels have something in common with the Ghanain practice of naming textiles. The names given to textiles and drinks reveal a lot about the culture and, at times, the history of a place. The bottle tops were introduced by European traders, and alcohol was one of the commodities they brought with them to exchange for African goods.”

Sacred Moon, 2007, aluminum and copper wire, 103 x 141 inches. Image courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery.

When I Last Wrote to You about Africa will be on view at the Davis Museum until June 26. For more information, go here. To see more of Anatsui's work, go here.