El Anatsui

El Anatsui is a Ghanaian sculptor who spent most of his career teaching at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka. He first worked in wood and clay, then turned to discarded aluminium bottle caps and liquor seals, which he and his assistants stitch together with copper wire into vast shimmering hangings. The pieces drape and fold differently each time they are hung, and touch on trade, consumption and colonial history. He won the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at Venice in 2015, and Behind the Red Moon filled Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2023.