The artist El Anatsui was born in Ghana and has spent the bulk of his career in Nigeria, but is a citizen of the world. News of a major new installation of his work coming to the prestigious Tate Modern gallery in London is just one in a string of major international exhibitions and awards in the past decade.
The 79-year-old artist has become so renowned that in art circles his brand of work is a kind of art movement with its own name, Elism. His work is influenced by – and in turn influences – Nigeria’s famed Nsukka school of artists who draw inspiration from the uli art style, derived from the mural paintings of the Igbo people. Nsukka is the city where I live and make art and where I have taught Anatsui’s work to students for years – as he once taught me.
