El Anantsui
The Restless Earth, 2017
Fabric and mixed media

This massive ‘cloth’ or hanging – or sculpture – is the work of Ghanaian artist El Anantsui. It is made from hundreds of flattened bottle tops, aluminium tins and other found objects, linked together with copper wire. The artist is drawing on the rich tradition of Kente cloth in his country; long strips of handwoven, multicoloured fabric. Each colour has its own symbolism: gold for status/serenity, yellow for fertility, green for renewal, blue for pure spirit/harmony, red for passion, and black for union with ancestors/spiritual awareness…

Art in Focus is curated by Meryl Doney

Photograph: ©Matteo Bittanti/Flickr

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This is an extract from an article published in the July/August 2024 edition of Reform

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