Cartographies Of Uneven Exchange: The Fluidity of Sculptural Form: El Anatsui in Conversation with Okwui Enwezor

This discussion covers an overview of El Anatsui's career, his methods of working and inspirations, and his commentary on his work. Enwezor frames the discussion with his opening remarks about what he calls the off-centered condition of contemporary art, arguing that it is important to hold on to things that are specific to the subjectivity of the artist and to locations of practice that cannot be simply erased by the idealism of a global art scene that has no boundaries. This specificity is something that could contribute to the complexity of our thinking about the dimensions of the contemporary global art domain, its increasing fluidity, the more so because it makes us aware that one can be an important international artist while residing anywhere in the world today. The idea of the off-centered condition of contemporary art refers to multiloci of artistic practice. Enwezor argues that this off-centered, multilocated area of artistic inquiry makes it possible for artists like El, with the deepest commitment to their practice and to specificity of their work, to remain creatively and actively connected to their locations.