Yinka Shonibare

Yinka Shonibare was born in London in 1962, he moved to Lagos, Nigeria at the age of three. He returned to England to study his bachelor and Master’s degree in Fine Art. However, he was diagnosed with an illness that resulted in a physical disability where one side of his body is paralyzed just weeks after his class began.

 Shonibare’s work varied, he uses a lot of different approaches in both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. He works with photography, painting, installation, sculpture and film. His work links his childhood in Nigeria and his experience of living in England, he also uses race, class, historical and social events as his theme in his art piece.

Cheeky Little Astronomer

I am particularly inspired by his indoor sculptures and installations, which often feature life size mannequins that are combined with multi cultural elements. The cheeky Little Astronomer is one of my favorites. The sculpture was placed facing the window, observing the environment with its telescope. The figure had a globe as its head, Shonibare explains that this symbolizes his concerns with geographical and cultural identity. The sculpture wears Victorian style clothes with brightly coloured batik fabric. The fabric is traditionally made in Indonesia and sold in West Africa, where it became a symbol of the culture. This represents his belief that cultural identity is enriched when it is combined, he also presents his relationship and bond between Africa and Europe.


The cheeky Little Astronomer made me think of a child who wants to leave the country he lives in, to travel and explore different areas and cultures in the world. The art piece gives me inspiration on how to develop the theme of Earthly Delight. I chose to interpret Earthly Delight as things that offer me a high degree of joy, and for me it is exploring and traveling. Shonibare’s work inspires me that I can include different cultural patterned fabrics that are related to me. I can also use different exploration gear as the silhouette and print of my designs.


Refugee Astronaut

Apart from being incredibly well made and beautiful, Shonibare’s artwork brings a lot of questions and deeper meanings within his work. Refugee Astronaut is another piece from Yinka Shonibare that I like. The sculpture appears to be futuristic, but he carries a lot of daily objects like cooking equipment and books, giving us the feeling that the Astronaut is carrying their life on their back, symbolizing the many migrants that are in the same situation today. The earth is also suffering from the growing climate crisis and is slowly turning inhabitable. Many new refugees will have to leave their home because of the rising sea level and pollution. It would be very nice if the work that I create can bring some awareness to environmental issues too, i will be looking into materials and fabrics that are more environmentally friendly to try to raise awareness for climate change issues.


Reference

Bloomberg Originals (2016) Portraying the Sordid Shadow of Colonial History: Yinka Shonibare | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 4. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0rAIMV0k4M (Accessed: 14 February 2023).


Cheeky little astronomer: Works of art: Ra collection: Royal Academy of Arts (no date) Cheeky Little Astronomer | Works of Art | RA Collection | Royal Academy of Arts. Available at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/cheeky-little-astronomer (Accessed: February 14, 2023).


Refugee astronaut II, 2016 : Yinka Shonibare CBE (no date) Artimage. Available at: https://www.artimage.org.uk/20347/yinka-shonibare-cbe/refugee-astronaut-ii--2016 (Accessed: February 14, 2023).


Yinkashonibare.com.(n.d.)  Available at: https://yinkashonibare.com/biography/ (Accessed: February 14, 2023).


Published by Anaya Cole on 09/06/2022 and Cole, A. (2022) What disability does Yinka Shonibare have?, wren. Available at: https://www.wren-clothing.com/what-disability-does-yinka-shonibare-have/ (Accessed: February 14, 2023).


Maps, R. (2020) What is a climate refugee?, www.ruyamaps.org. www.ruyamaps.org. Available at: https://www.ruyamaps.org/1-climate-refugees/2019/12/5/what-is-a-climate-refugee-un (Accessed: February 14, 2023).


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