New Layout
2009
Aluminium liquor bootle caps and copper wire
244 × 303 cm (96 1/16 × 119 5/16 in.) Overall dimensions (work laid out on the ground): 244 × 303 × 3 cm (96 1/16 × 119 5/16 × 1 3/16 in.)
To create this giant metallic cloth, the sculptor El Anatsui used aluminium tops from liquor bottles and copper wire, entwined in the style of traditional Kente weaving.
For the artist, these sparkling cloths are “fluid objects that have no ‘given’ or ‘authorised’ form.” The form of the work can change, both in the construction process (elements could be removed, replaced or moved) and in the choice of its arrangement. The bottle tops also refer to Africa’s colonial past: alcohol was one of the first goods brought in by European merchants in exchange for products in Africa.
The sculpture New Layout (2009), part of the Pinault Collection, was presented at the Palazzo Grassi at the "Le Monde vous appartient" (“The World Belongs to You”) exhibition (2011 - 2012).
For the artist, these sparkling cloths are “fluid objects that have no ‘given’ or ‘authorised’ form.” The form of the work can change, both in the construction process (elements could be removed, replaced or moved) and in the choice of its arrangement. The bottle tops also refer to Africa’s colonial past: alcohol was one of the first goods brought in by European merchants in exchange for products in Africa.
The sculpture New Layout (2009), part of the Pinault Collection, was presented at the Palazzo Grassi at the "Le Monde vous appartient" (“The World Belongs to You”) exhibition (2011 - 2012).
Exhibitions
Courtesy El Anatsui and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Photo: John Berens
©Palazzo Grassi
photo: Matteo De Fina
Exhibition view, Le Monde Vous Appartient, Venice, Palazzo Grassi, June 2 2011 - February 21 2012.
©Palazzo Grassi
photo: Matteo De Fina
Exhibition view, Le Monde Vous Appartient, Venice, Palazzo Grassi, June 2 2011 - February 21 2012.
