GB
* August 9, 1962 London
Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist best known for his use of wax prints in his artwork. These are colorful “African” wax-printed cotton fabrics, which he buys himself at Brixton Market in London, knowing very well that they are not actually made in Africa. The artist, who describes himself as a “postcolonial hybrid,” critically examines cultural identity, colonialism, and postcolonialism in the contemporary context of globalization in his works.
Shonibare achieved his international breakthrough with his work “Gallantry and Criminal Conversation” at documenta XI in 2002. In 2010, “Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle” became his first public art commission on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London. The colorful, highly visible “Wind Sculptures” have since become his trademark. “Wind Sculpture III” is located in Cape Town, creating a link to the continent where the artist grew up.
