Tag: Yinka Shonibare

Yinka Shonibare CBE RA (b. 1962) is a London-based artist who studied Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, London (1989) and earned his MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (1991).

His interdisciplinary practice challenges contemporary cultural and national identities amidst globalization by drawing on Western art history and literature. Through exploration of race, class, and cultural construction, Shonibare’s works interrogate the intertwined relationship between Africa and Europe, and their socio-political histories.

Nominated for the Turner Prize in 2004, Shonibare’s mid-career survey debuted at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney in 2008, traveling to venues like the Brooklyn Museum and the Smithsonian Institute. His iconic ‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle’ graced Trafalgar Square in 2010 and now resides at the National Maritime Museum.

Elected as a Royal Academician in 2013 and honored as ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire’ in 2019, Shonibare’s ‘The British Library’ is part of Tate Modern’s collection. He received the Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon Award in 2021 and headlined major retrospectives in Salzburg and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

In 2022, Shonibare debuted ‘Planets in My Head’ at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, followed by ‘Wind Sculpture in Bronze I’ in Stockholm. He launched the Guest Artists Space (G. A. S.) Foundation, promoting cultural exchange through residencies and exhibitions in Lagos and Ogun State.

Commissioned for Sharjah Biennial’s 30th anniversary, Shonibare unveiled new works and a sculpture in Leeds as part of Leeds 2023. His art graces esteemed collections worldwide, including Tate, V&A Museum, Smithsonian, MoMA, and Moderna Museet.