Yinka Shonibare facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yinka Shonibare
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Shonibare & Hibiscus Rising (2023)
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| Born | 9 August 1962 London, UK
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| Nationality | British |
| Movement | Young British Artists |
Yinka Shonibare (born August 9, 1962) is a British artist. He lives and works in the United Kingdom. His art explores big ideas like who we are as people from different cultures (cultural identity). He also looks at the history of countries taking over other lands (colonialism) and what happens after that (post-colonialism). He connects these ideas to our modern, connected world (globalisation).
A special thing about his art is the bright, colorful fabric he uses. It's called Ankara fabric. Yinka Shonibare has a physical disability that affects one side of his body. Because of this, he works with assistants who help him make his amazing art pieces.
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Early Life and Learning
Yinka Shonibare was born in London, England, on August 9, 1962. His parents were Olatunji and Laide Shonibare. When he was three, his family moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where his father worked as a lawyer.
At age 17, Yinka came back to the UK for school. When he was 18, he got a condition that affected his spinal cord. This caused a long-term physical disability, making one side of his body paralyzed.
Yinka Shonibare studied Fine Art at two famous schools in London: Byam Shaw School of Art and Goldsmiths, University of London. He finished his studies as part of a group known as the Young British Artists. After school, he worked for an organization called Shape Arts. This group helps make art available for people with disabilities.
His Art Career
In 1999, Yinka Shonibare created four unique sculptures called "Dysfunctional Family." They looked a bit like aliens. The mother and daughter were blue and white, and the father and son were red and yellow.
His art has been shown in many important places around the world. These include the Venice Biennial and major museums. In 2002, he was asked to create a special artwork for an exhibition called documenta XI. This piece, called Gallantry and Criminal Conversation, helped him become famous worldwide.
In 2004, he was a finalist for the Turner Prize, a big award for artists. People really liked his work that year. A BBC poll showed that 64% of voters chose his art as their favorite.
Yinka Shonibare has received many honors for his work. He became a Royal Academician in 2013, which is a special title from the Royal Academy of Arts. In 2010, his large public artwork, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, was displayed in Trafalgar Square in London. This was a very popular piece of public art.
In 2016, one of his "Wind Sculpture" pieces was placed permanently outside the National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC. It was the first sculpture to be installed there.
He also runs a project space called Guest Projects in London. It helps new artists. He plans to open similar spaces in Lagos, Nigeria.
In 2023, his first public artwork in Leeds was revealed. It's called Hibiscus Rising. This sculpture remembers David Oluwale, a Nigerian man who was homeless and treated badly by the police in Leeds.
What His Art is About
Yinka Shonibare's art looks at ideas like colonialism, race, and social class. He uses many different art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, and film. He often explores how our identity is formed and the complex connections between Africa and Europe. He also looks at their shared history in terms of money and power.
He uses Western art history and books to ask: What makes up our shared identity today? He calls himself a "post-colonial" artist, meaning he questions common ideas about culture and nations. While his art often comes from his own life, he also gets ideas from all over the world. He says, "I'm a citizen of the world, I watch television so I make work about these things."
Since 1994, a key material in his art has been the bright "African" fabric. He buys it from a market in London. But he points out that these fabrics are not truly "African" in origin. They were first made in Europe to sell in Indonesia. When they weren't popular there, they were sold in Africa. Yinka Shonibare likes this idea of a "crossbred cultural background." He says it shows how culture is often "an artificial construct," meaning it's something we create, not always natural.
He often uses these fabrics to dress headless, life-sized sculptures. These figures are carefully placed to make you think about history and identity in new ways. In his 2003 artwork Scramble for Africa, he shows the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. This was when European leaders divided up Africa. The headless figures in this piece show a loss of humanity. Yinka Shonibare explained that he wanted to show these leaders as "mindless in their hunger" for African land. This artwork also makes us think about how history can repeat itself.
Yinka Shonibare also recreates famous paintings by other artists. He uses headless figures dressed in his special fabrics instead of traditional European clothes. This creates a "culture clash" and shows how different cultures interact. For example, he remade Gainsborough's Mr and Mrs Andrews Without Their Heads (1998).
He also recreated works by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. In his version of Fragonard's The Swing (After Fragonard) (2001), the woman on the swing wears fabric that looks like a famous brand. This helps him explore ideas of globalism and how we buy things in the modern world.
Yinka Shonibare also takes photos and videos where he acts out famous British paintings or stories. He often plays a "dandy," a stylish man from the past. Examples include Diary of A Victorian Dandy (1998) and Dorian Gray (2001).
His Nelson's Ship in a Bottle was a huge model, much bigger than a normal ship in a bottle. It was a 1:30-scale model of HMS Victory. This artwork was placed in Trafalgar Square in London from 2010 to 2012. It was very popular. Later, it found a new permanent home at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
His other works include printed ceramics, shoes covered in fabric, and decorated walls and bowls.
In 2013, Yinka Shonibare took part in an exhibition called Art Wars. Artists were given a stormtrooper helmet and asked to turn it into art. His work helped raise money for a charity.
In 2018, one of his "Wind Sculpture" pieces was bought by the Norval Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa. This was the first time one of his sculptures was permanently displayed in Africa, where he grew up.
Selected Artworks and Exhibitions
Yinka Shonibare's first solo art show was in 1989 in London. From 2008 to 2009, a big exhibition of his work traveled to Australia and the USA. It was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, and the National Museum of African Art in Washington DC.
For the Brooklyn Museum show, he created a special artwork called Mother and Father Worked Hard So I Can Play. Another special artwork, Party Time—Re-Imagine America: A Centennial Commission, was shown at the Newark Museum in New Jersey.
Awards
- In 2004, Yinka Shonibare received the title Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He uses this title in his art name. He said it's "better to make an impact from within."
- In 2019, he was given an even higher honor, the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
- In March 2021, Yinka Shonibare received the Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon Award. This award celebrates artists who have made important contributions to art.
Living with Disability
Yinka Shonibare's disability has increased over time, and he now uses an electric wheelchair. He has talked about how his disability affects his work as an artist. In 2013, he became a patron for the annual Shape Arts "Open" exhibition. This exhibition invites both disabled and non-disabled artists to show their work.
