El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa at the ROM
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is always hosting new exhibitions throughout the year, featuring art and culture from around the world. This fall, the ROM presents, the world premiere of El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, covering the career of Ghanaian visual artist, El Anatsui.
Best known for his large shimmering metallic tapestries, the exhibition will showcase 63 works including Ghanaian and Nigerian cultural references, as well as global, local and personal histories. Paintings, wood, ceramic and metal sculptures will also be on display.
El Anatsui is considered to be one of Africa’s most influential artists and significant cultural protagonist. Born in Ghana in 1944, he has a bachelor’s degree in sculpture and a postgraduate diploma in art education. He is currently a professor of sculpture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The exhibition will feature works of art constructed from found objects and everyday materials which evoke memories of Africa’s past and present. Consisting of a wide range of El Anatsui’s work from early ceramic and wood works to the more present metal wall sculptures that have garnered international recognition, this exhibition is a must see.
Using materials such as mortars, lids of evaporated milk tins, driftwood, obituary-notice printing plates and salvaged liquor-bottle caps, visitors will be able to witness and learn about the artist’s ideas and their correlation to the complex histories, themes, and social issues that have shaped personal, cultural and historical identities. The exhibition’s objective is to showcase Africa’s rich and diverse modern culture and highlight it as an emerging global market.
The exhibition is presented by the Institute for Contemporary Culture and will be on display at the ROM’s Roloff Beny Gallery on Level 4 of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal from October 2, 2010 to January 2, 2011.
HelloToronto Tip: The El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa exhibition will be accompanied by a variety of public events focusing on the cultural, social, and political issues of modern Africa. Various themes, guest lectures, performances, panel discussions and films will be presented through the duration of the exhibition.
Posted by Rosanna Bonura
