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Jaap Guldemond, Gabriele Mackert (eds), Peter Bailey, Manthia Diawara, Achille Mbembe, Onyema Offoedu-Okeke, John Picton and Angela McRobbie Yinka Shonibare Design: Irma Boom, Illustrated (colour and b/w), Paperback, sewn, 160 pages, Size: 21 x 26.5 cm Exhibitions: NAi Publishers in association with Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, and Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
In a playful, humorous and visually overwhelming way, Shonibare's work tackles important issues in contemporary society, such as multiculturalism, identity, ethnicity and globalization. Besides photographs of Shonibare's most important works from 1994 onwards, this publication includes a selection of essays written by specialists in various fields, exploring themes which occupy an important place in the artist's oeuvre, such as trade in 'African' batik fabrics, the history of the dandy, sexuality and recreational activities of the Victorian aristocracy, and the rise of modernism in Nigeria. An interview with the artist provides insight into his sources of inspiration and recent artwork which has influenced him. |
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Of Nigerian extraction, the artist Yinka Shonibare (b. London, 1962) has in recent years enjoyed growing international fame with his spectacular installations. In his tableaux vivants he dresses black window-dummies in Victorian clothing made of typical African fabrics. These eye-catching textiles are perceived as an expression of African pride, but they are in fact designed in Europe and produced for the African market. This duality is characteristic of Shonibare's work. In his photographic work he also plays with role-switching between classes and castes, between white and black. He himself features in one of his series of photographs as a black Victorian dandy surrounded by white servants. For Shonibare the dandy is a leitmotif, a character who expresses his individuality by challenging the well-to-do with his ambiguous yet alluring charisma.
