El Anatsui: the murals made with bottle caps

    El Anatsui: the murals made with bottle caps

    Art is born from waste. And it wouldn't even be the first time. But it is certainly one of the most original ideas: the murals created by the coverings of the liquor bottle caps. Colorful and luminous, El Anatsui's post-modern paintings have allowed him to become one of the greatest "recyclers on the planet"



    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Art is born from waste. And it wouldn't be not even the first time. But it is certainly one of the most original ideas: the murals created by the coatings of the liquor bottle caps.



    Thus, all this waste that would certainly have ended up in the bin was collected by thenigerian artist, who turned them into officially recognized works of art and now in most presso la Jack Shainman Gallery New York.

    A different visual experience based on the distance from which it is observed. Even looking at this tide of caps from just 5cm away, the images are truly captivating.

    It was enough for El Anatsui to understand that the Nigerian liquor companies they threw away the seals and bottle caps when refilling the liquor bottles, to give birth to the idea. So the artist has agreed with them to be constantly supplied with their waste materials. After collecting the pieces of the distillery, together with his assistants he began to flatten the bottle caps into colored and thin strips.

    Le Stripes they were then sorted by color and shape and tied together by a thin copper wire. Not a small job. Larger installations can take up to two months to complete.

    Anatsui is not new to this kind of art form. At the beginning of his career he worked mainly with clay and wood, creating objects that were mainly inspired by traditional Ghanaian beliefs. Subsequently, he distinguished himself for the creation of installations, such as the one presented in the course of 52nd edition of the Venice Biennale, real tapestries made with recycled materials, aluminum cans, clay, fabric, wood. On that occasion Anatsui confirmed himself as one of the most esteemed living African sculptors.



    Francesca Mancuso

    Read also:

    • 10 creative ideas for reusing plastic bottle caps
    • How to make plant-based tea candles by recycling bottle caps
    add a comment of El Anatsui: the murals made with bottle caps
    Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.