I haven't quite gotten back into the swing of things, so I thought I'd show you an art installation I went to see at the ROM a couple of weeks ago. First, I went to see a documentary about the artist El Anatsui, and then I went on a curated tour of his work.



His art is huge - I mean massive - it's all encompassing.   To give you some perspective:

Dusasa I

It has the feeling of textiles with hints of mosaic, quilting, weaving... as if the scale of these pieces isn't impressive enough, here's what these pieces are made of:



He makes everything entirely from the tops liquor bottles!!!


His philosophy with respect to the materials he uses is that if you use inexpensive materials, your vision isn't constrained by the costliness of the project.  This really resonated for me as for two years now, I've been looking at a pile of fabrics  - all silk - for a quilt I've been holding in my head for those same two years; but haven't cut into because the fabrics alone cost $500.00.  Would I have made that quilt a long time ago, if I hadn't been afraid of "ruining" $500 worth of fabric?  Of course!  Perhaps you've been simliarly constrained by much loved fabric lines or bits that you can't get anymore.



And, of course, he is also, among other things, opening a dialouge about our detritus, turning said garbage into  something beautiful, alcohol and the role it plays in his particular society (and by extension, ours), among many other things.

I know this exhibit is going to be in New York in February - apparently an extension is being built onto one of the museums to permanently house it.  If you have the opportunity, please do go and see it.  The pictures I've taken are nice - but they are in no way indicative of the power of these pieces in real life.  They made my eyes well up!

If you're local  - come and see it while you can.