Yinka Shonibare: Suspended States

 Yinka Shonibare CBE - Decolonised Structures (Kitchener)

To the Serpentine Gallery to see this first show by the artist Yinka Shonibare at a major London institution in over 20 years. There were very similar works on display to that of his gallery show at Stephen Friedman Gallery on Cork Street last October (here). Greeting visitors at the entrance to this exhibition was one of the artists bronze Wind sculptures of a billowing cloth dancing in the wind, decorated in Shonibare's signature Dutch wax pattern designs inspired by the Indonesian batik decoration technique, industrially produced in the Netherlands and then sold in Africa. These African fabric patterns also feature on his Decolonised Structures series statues. This series takes as its starting point the larger than life statues of renowned Western historical figures dotted around the capital whose legacies are viewed as being quite controversial and problematic today. One recalls the shocking images of 2020 when protesters in Bristol pulled down the statue of slave trader/philanphropist Edward Colston rolled it through the streets and then threw it in the harbour after years of calling for it to be removed. Shonibare recreates replica statues of these divisive figures such as Churchill, Clive of India and Lord Kitchener in fibreglass at a smaller, more human scale than the original statues, literally cutting these figures and their reputations down to size, and again covers them in hand-painted Dutch wax print patterns, which like camouflage seems to disrupt the surface and outlines of the statues, softening the severity of both these historical figures and their reputations. The African patterned fabric is also employed on the covers of a library of books in one gallery room in an ambitious installation entitled The War Library. This consists of over 5000 books the spines of which are embossed with gold lettering naming current and historical conflicts and peace treaties and others with spines left empty hinting at conflicts to come. The library reflects upon how global conflicts are viewed subjectively depending on the stance of the aggressors and those seeking to defend their territory. The one surprise for me here, and a new addition to Shonibare's oeuvre is contained within the darkened central gallery of the Serpentine, and is entitled Sanctuary City. This consists of 17 small-scale black replica models of contemporary and historical buildings that have been used as refuges for vulnerable persons and those fleeing persecution. These little buildings were lit from within as if they were beacons of hope for the dispossessed. Again, within these little blackened buildings were swatches of Shonibare's signature African fabrics providing vibrant flashes of colour perhaps symbolising hope in the darkness. Personal favourites on display here included the African Bird Magic textile series juxtaposing African masks against endangered bird species native to Africa. The masks symbolise ancestors who were the keepers of the birds habitat before the arrival of colonial systems which sought to exploit and deplete the riches of the land, negatively affecting the ecology.

Wind Sculpture in Bronze IV

"I realised the significance of the wind for the diaspora and the enslavement of people. Looking at the sails, I realised that I could develop that into more abstract forms. " - Yinka Shonibare CBE

African Bird Magic (Mauritius Fody & Comoro Blue Vanga)

"These masks become symbols of African empowerment to challenge the consequences of Western colonial industrialisation in the degradation of the African environment" - Yinka Shonibare CBE

The War Library

"We've had so many of these conflicts, and we've had so many peace treaties... Do we learn anything from them, or do we just carry on the catastrophe?" - Yinka Shonibare CBE

Sanctuary City

"I was interested in how we start to think about sanctuary in relation to homelessness, shelter for women and refugees." - Yinka Shonibare CBE

Decolonised Structures

"I don't think statues should be destroyed, the public should be able to see them, but there should be be museums built for them so people can understand the history of these people and what they did. Here the sculptures are reduced in size and deliberately  bought to eye level to metaphorically reduce (their) grandeur... (and) power over citizens.' - Yinka Shonibare CBE

Decolonised Structures (Queen Victoria)

Decolonised Structures (Napier)

Decolonised Structures (Frere)

Decolonised Structures (Roberts)

Decolonised Structures (Kitchener)

Decolonised Structures (Clive)

Decolonised Structures (Churchill)

Creatures of the Mappa Mundi, Bonnacon

Yinka Shonibare CBE: Suspended States

until 1st September

Serpentine South Gallery

Kensington Gardens

London

W2

Marc Quinn: Light Into Life

Marc Quinn - Burning Desire, 2011

"I think that nature is beautiful and disturbing... Nature is a kind of relentless machine that consumes... there's something kind of dangerous about nature as well as beautiful." Marc Quinn.

 

 

A rare sunny day earlier this year saw me undertaking a long overdue return to Kew Gardens  to catch this retrospective of the sculptural works of artist Marc Quinn. I've featured Quinn's work on this blog previously (here). Quinn in my view was always one of the most most interesting of that generation of Young British Artists who came to prominence in the 90s in the exhibition Sensation at the Royal Academy of Arts which featured works from the personal collection of Charles Saatchi. Quinn's Self, a self-portrait consisting of frozen pints of his own blood, is one one of the most fascinating of artworks and captured my attention and imagination with its shock value. I thought it was an absolutely brilliant, original conceit, and I have been an enthusiast of his work ever since. This latest show of Quinn's works contains a new version of Self entitled The Origin of the Species, created from coconut milk rather than blood and resembles a traditional death mask usually cast from wax or plaster. Quinn thought the use of coconut milk would be more fitting for this retrospective to reflect the exhibitions setting in nature. Another stand out sculpture here at Kew is the stunning Blood Flowers, an arrangement of Calla Lilly's cast from animal blood in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. It is a piece that will not be to everybody's taste, and is definitely not for the faint hearted, but is so hauntingly beautiful as to be mesmeric. The gallery contains new and existing works including drawings, sculptures and paintings. Other stand outs on the trail around the lovely gardens of Kew include the large, vibrant Burning Desire, a huge red orchid nestled under the shadow of the Great Pagoda. There are further huge mirrored orchids from the artists Light into Life series also dotted around the sculpture trail. Along the trail are also other pieces with mirrored surfaces from Quinn's Our Botanic Selves series. These pieces were inspired by Kew's Herbarium specimens and represents a plant that whilst toxic to humans if ingested, have been found by scientists to be effective in the treatment of certain diseases and cancers. They play great tricks with the eye, shapeshifting as they reflect and then appear and disappear into the landscape appearing to camouflage themselves as if they had cloaking abilities. Quinn's massive bronze bonsai trees titled Held by Desire located in the Temperate House were another series which I thought not only impressive in scale but also detail as each individual leaf was presented just like the actual versions of the real things which sat alongside, dwarfed in the same space. Lastly on my walk around the gardens I encountered appropriately enough outside the Palm House three huge sculptures of palms based on the Sabai and Bismarckia palms contained within the Palm House. Quinn's sculptures blended into Kew's landscape perfectly and also complemented the natural flora which inhabited the scenery. An added bonus of my visit was getting to see the artist Marc Quinn himself outside of the Palm House who was there with his son photographing his work for posterity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc Quinn: Light Into Life

until 29th September

Kew Gardens

Richmond

London