How El Anatsui turned bottle tops into Behind the Red Moon

Used bottle tops became El Anatsui's biggest work yet, as Hyundai Motor and Tate described it at the 2023 unveiling. Hyundai Motor and Tate called the work Behind the Red Moon, made for the Turbine Hall. Hyundai Motor and Tate gave the show's dates as 10 October 2023 to 14 April 2024.

The context

Before the vast sheets took shape, Tate says, there were liquor bottle tops and scraps of metal. Tate's guide traces those scraps through a process of crushing, crumpling and joining by hand. Tate says the bottle tops came from Nigeria and bore the logos of drinks brands.

Tate places Anatsui's birth in Anyako, Ghana, in 1944. Tate's guide names his working bases as Tema in Ghana and Nsukka in Nigeria. October Gallery says it first showed his work in 1993. October Gallery also records his teaching career at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Three hangings, seen through Tate's guide

After that work came three forms that Tate asked visitors to walk between. Tate describes the first, The Red Moon, as a sail caught by the wind. Tate says red bottle tops trace the moon across it.

Tate calls the next hanging The World. Tate describes layers that look like people, made from thin seals linked into a loose net. From one spot, Tate says, those separate shapes form a circle like the Earth.

Tate calls the final hanging The Wall, a black sheet that reaches from floor to ceiling. At its foot, Tate describes heaps of metal that look like waves and rocks. Behind it, Tate reveals a silver surface with bright patches of colour.

How Tate describes the making

Tate's guide says the scraps were crumpled and crushed, then joined by hand with copper wire. Tate describes sheets that were joined into larger forms, with help from the artist's studio team. Hyundai Motor says these flexible works can fold for travel and take new shapes when hung again.

My craft drawer would like to apply for a much larger room.

Tate quotes Anatsui: "The Turbine Hall reminds me of a ship". Tate's guide links his plans for the room to motion and the idea of a red sail. Hyundai Motor describes the commission (a new work made for a specific site) as part of its series for the Turbine Hall.

Our view

We like the shift in scale that Tate describes: a bottle top close up, a sail from far away. For us, Tate's account of hands and wire makes the grand forms easier to grasp. Tate also links the drinks brands to trade routes and the movement of people between Africa, Europe and the Americas. We think that history gives the scraps more weight than their size suggests, as Tate's guide makes clear.

What do you think?