General admission for children 17 years and under is always free
El Anatsui
Many Came Back, 2005
Aluminum and copper wire
213.3 x 292.1 cm
Collection of the Newark Museum
Purchase 2005, The Members Fund 2005.34
El Anatsui, a Ghanian artist living and working in Nigeria, weaves tapestries with unexpected materials. Flattened metal slats from liquor bottle tops are stitched together with copper wire, allowing the metal to drape in soft folds. Many historic associations are present in this reinterpretation of traditional fabrics, including the roles of rum in the transatlantic slave trade, the history of recycled materials, and the importance of textiles in the African trade network.
Photo at top: Richard Goodbody. Collection of Newark Museum.
Many Came Back is one part of the contemporary exhibition Common Threads: Weaving Stories Across Time. On view in Hostetter Gallery beginning October 4.
Common Threads: Weaving Stories Across Time is supported in part by Amy and David Abrams, The Coby Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Barr Foundation ArtsAmplified Initiative, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Media Sponsor: WBUR
