Yinka Shonibare
23 Jun 2008
YINKA SHONIBARE
London Mayor Boris Johnson announced today that Yinka Shonibare, MBE has been selected as the winning artist for the 2010 commission for the Fourth Plinth, the UK’s most prestigious public art commission, in Trafalgar Square, London.
Shonibare’s ‘Nelson's Ship in a Bottle’, is a scale replica of Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, in a giant glass bottle. A continuation of the artist’s investigation into political and social histories, this work seeks to playfully stimulate post-colonial debate about culture, authenticity and value today.
Drawing on his dual upbringing in the UK and Nigeria, the ship’s sails will be made in richly coloured and patterned textiles, bought from Brixton market in London. Assumed to be African, these fabrics are, in fact, inspired by Indonesian batik design, mass produced by the Dutch and sold to the colonies in West Africa. By the 1960s the material was popularly assimilated in Africa and became symbolic of African identity and independence. Tying together historical and global threads and traversing oceans and continents, this work considers British expansion in trade and Empire made possible through the freedom of the seas that Nelson’s victory provided.
Shonibare says this work reflects the story of multiculturalism in London today: ‘For me it’s a celebration of London’s immense ethnic wealth, giving expression to and honouring the many cultures and ethnicities that are still breathing precious wind into the sails of the UK.’
In September 2008, Shonibare will present a major mid-career solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney, which tours to the Brooklyn Museum, New York in 2009. The exhibition will be accompanied by a major monograph published by Prestel.
Yinka Shonibare, MBE was born in London and moved to Lagos, Nigeria, at the age of three. He returned to London to study Fine Art, first at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London, and then at Goldsmiths College, London, where he received his MA. He has exhibited in leading museums worldwide and participated in seminal exhibitions such as: 'Sensation', Royal Academy of Arts, London (1997); 49th Venice Biennale (2001); 'Documenta 11', Kassel, Germany (2002); 'Double Dress,' Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2003) touring; 'Double Dutch', Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam (2004) touring; 'Africa Remix', various venues (2005–6); 'Check-List Luanda Pop', African Pavilion, 52nd Venice Biennale (2007); 'Jardin d’Amour,' Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France (2007) and 'Scratch the Surface', The National Gallery, London (2007). In 2004, Shonibare was nominated for the Turner Prize. In 2005, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
London Mayor Boris Johnson announced today that Yinka Shonibare, MBE has been selected as the winning artist for the 2010 commission for the Fourth Plinth, the UK’s most prestigious public art commission, in Trafalgar Square, London.
Shonibare’s ‘Nelson's Ship in a Bottle’, is a scale replica of Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, in a giant glass bottle. A continuation of the artist’s investigation into political and social histories, this work seeks to playfully stimulate post-colonial debate about culture, authenticity and value today.
Drawing on his dual upbringing in the UK and Nigeria, the ship’s sails will be made in richly coloured and patterned textiles, bought from Brixton market in London. Assumed to be African, these fabrics are, in fact, inspired by Indonesian batik design, mass produced by the Dutch and sold to the colonies in West Africa. By the 1960s the material was popularly assimilated in Africa and became symbolic of African identity and independence. Tying together historical and global threads and traversing oceans and continents, this work considers British expansion in trade and Empire made possible through the freedom of the seas that Nelson’s victory provided.
Shonibare says this work reflects the story of multiculturalism in London today: ‘For me it’s a celebration of London’s immense ethnic wealth, giving expression to and honouring the many cultures and ethnicities that are still breathing precious wind into the sails of the UK.’
In September 2008, Shonibare will present a major mid-career solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney, which tours to the Brooklyn Museum, New York in 2009. The exhibition will be accompanied by a major monograph published by Prestel.
Yinka Shonibare, MBE was born in London and moved to Lagos, Nigeria, at the age of three. He returned to London to study Fine Art, first at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London, and then at Goldsmiths College, London, where he received his MA. He has exhibited in leading museums worldwide and participated in seminal exhibitions such as: 'Sensation', Royal Academy of Arts, London (1997); 49th Venice Biennale (2001); 'Documenta 11', Kassel, Germany (2002); 'Double Dress,' Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2003) touring; 'Double Dutch', Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam (2004) touring; 'Africa Remix', various venues (2005–6); 'Check-List Luanda Pop', African Pavilion, 52nd Venice Biennale (2007); 'Jardin d’Amour,' Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France (2007) and 'Scratch the Surface', The National Gallery, London (2007). In 2004, Shonibare was nominated for the Turner Prize. In 2005, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.