In the Gallery: Louise Neri on El Anatsui at White Cube Hong Kong and White Cube Seoul

Why It Matters

The exhibitions demonstrate how recycled materials can command high‑end gallery attention, reshaping sustainability into a commercial and cultural asset for the global art market.

Key Takeaways

• El Anatsui’s first solo shows open in Hong Kong, Seoul.
• Exhibition titles use Ewe wordplay: “LuwVor” and “MivEvi”.
• Bottle‑cap sculptures evolve from discarded plastic bag discovery.
• Works are double‑sided, displaying vivid logos and muted metal.
• Local newspaper aluminum plates join caps, highlighting waste reuse.

Summary

White Cube has launched El Anatsui’s first solo exhibitions in Hong Kong and Seoul, titled “MivEvi” (Fragrant Harbour) and “LuwVor” (Soul City), respectively. The shows mark the Ghanaian‑born sculptor’s debut in the two Asian markets and underscore his lifelong engagement with material transformation.

The exhibitions trace the evolution of Anatsui’s signature bottle‑cap installations, a practice that began in the late 1990s when he collected discarded caps from a plastic bag on a Nigerian street. Over decades he has cut, folded, crushed and linked the soft aluminum caps into massive, textile‑like panels, later expanding the palette with reclaimed newspaper printing plates.

Highlights include the early “Man’s Cloth” and “Woman’s Cloth” pieces now in the British Museum, a new work that juxtaposes a pearlescent mosaic of cap interiors with a cloud‑streaked sky, and the double‑sided format that lets each sculpture serve as both wall‑mounted relief and free‑standing sculpture. Brand logos and references to Ghanaian liquor further embed local narratives into the global dialogue.

By turning waste into monumental art, Anatsui reinforces the market’s appetite for sustainability‑driven narratives while expanding his cultural footprint across Asia. The shows signal a growing collector interest in socially conscious, material‑focused sculpture and position White Cube as a conduit for African contemporary art in the region.

Original Description

Watch as Louise Neri, Executive Liaison at El Anatsui Studio, reflects on the artist’s work.⁠

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‘In a world dominated by warp speed and disposability, it is uplifting, morally and philosophically, to see an artist making sheer wonder out of the things that others trade, consume and discard.’ – Louise Neri⁠

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A key feature of El Anatsui’s recent metal works is their double-sided construction: Hung freely in space or anchored to the wall, each work reveals a distinct recto and verso.⁠

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One surface emphasises the vivid colour and logos of the bottle caps, while the other resolves into the lustrous monochromes of the bottlecap interiors, shifting the work’s appearance according to its orientation and display.⁠

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Video: © White Cube (Felix Wong)

🔗 Click the link to learn more: https://www.whitecube.com/gallery-exhibitions/el-anatsui-hong-kong-2026