EL ANATSUI | UNTITLED

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 1996

El Anatsui is regarded as one of the most important artists working today. However, this recognition presents a problem with regards to the interpretation of the artist’s work within the international art scene, which portends to reimagine it out of context, thereby removing what makes it unique and exemplary, its Africanness. Anatsui’s practice is instructed with the choice of employing locally sourced materials as a medium to communicate an idea, in the case of Untitled, repurposing a block of wood, etched and coloured in African design, imbuing it with new life, value and meaning. Anatsui’s practice of repurposing materials as a medium for his art dates to the start of his artistic career, before it became common practice amongst global contemporary artists. For Anatsui’s works to be truly understood within an international context, its Africanness must be embraced, so too must the African locale, it must be recognised as a key part of global contemporary art language.

Untitled, is an important example of El Anatsui’s dialogue with traditional and local media in his early works and bears the hallmarks of Uche Okeke’s teaching and influence. In 1970, Okeke joined the Fine Art Department of the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, urging his students to seek inspiration from the region surrounding the university, an idea cultivated as part of the Zaria Rebels in an attempt to decolonize the visual arts in post-colonial Nigeria. The coloured lines prevalent on the present lot are inspired by Uli drawings, traditional wall mural and temporary tattoo designs practiced amongst Igbo women in South-eastern Nigeria. Uli designs were particularly relevant in the practice of the Nsukka group and became emblematic of their group style called Ulism.

Structurally, the present lot could be perceived as a representation of a bust of a woman on which the Uli design sits, but unlike the practice of the Igbo women, Anatsui’s designs have a degree of permanence. Untitled compels the viewer to observe it from different angles and distances, the work also presents itself as innately abstract and non-literal, taking on new meanings, new shapes with each perspective.

Anatsui’s contribution to the development of African art not only lies in his activities as an artist. El Anatsui is a progenitor and was one of the founding members of the AKA Group based in Enugu and Nsukka. The group was formed in 1986, as a circle of exhibiting artists with its members enjoying a degree of international reputation. Some of its members include Ada Udechukwu, Chike Aniakor, Chris Afuba, Chris Echeta, Ifedioranma Dike, Obiora Anidi and Obiora Udechukwu. The group maintained close ties with the Fine and Applied Arts Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka where El taught (1975-2011), and maintains his studio practice today.

During the active years of the AKA group, they exhibited both in Lagos and Enugu. The present lot was exhibited at AKA ’96, the 11th annual exhibition of the AKA Circle of Exhibiting Artists held at Bona Gallery, Enugu, May 3 – 11, 1996 and Signature Gallery, Lagos, May 30 – June 8, 1996. Signature Gallery is one of the longest-established contemporary art galleries in Nigeria. Established in 1992, they are one of the first galleries from the continent to expand internationally (and the first from West Africa), opening a second gallery in Mayfair in 2019.