what a blog hiatus. newest post in on the above who I noticed in timeout London the other day and was peeved by the familiarity of that particular name. Now i remember seeing his awesome work at the turner prize exhibition several years ago in 2004.
Shonibare has become well known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. His work explores these issues, alongside those of race and class, through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and, more recently, film and performance. He examines in particular the construction of identity and tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe and their respective economic and political histories. Mining Western art history and literature, he asks what constitutes our collective contemporary identity today. Having described himself as a ‘post-colonial’ hybrid, Shonibare questions the meaning of cultural and national definitions. He uses fantastic african prints on dutch cotton that he buys in Brixton, London. He is currently responsible for the 4th plinth in Trafalgar square.
