The exhibition, Yinka Shonibare MBE (RA) at the newly renovated Yale Center for British Art, provides a modern perspective on British history. Shonibare’s work focuses on Admiral Lord Nelson as a symbol of British colonialism. The works are vibrant and incorporate bold patterned Dutch wax-printed fabrics that Shonibare is known for. The bright colors and often comical tones to explore and critique much darker themes and historical events.
Upon first encountering the exhibition, I found it interesting that Shonibare utilized such a wide variety of mediums, especially considering how small the exhibition is. The use of multiple mediums, from sculptures to photographs to costumes, illustrate the artist’s attempts to look at the theme of British …show more content…
Many of Shonibare’s pieces directly reference the works of other artists from his self-portrait that replicates Andy Warhol Camouflage Self-Portrait to nineteenth century paintings by Henry Wallis, Édouard Manet and Leonardo Alenza. Shonibare uses emulation to parodize historical depictions of Nelson and to, in a sense, reclaim a violent unjust history. In the piece Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Shonibare recreates Nelson’s ship, HMS Victory. By playfully putting the model inside a glass bottle Shonibare attempts to take power away from colonialists and turn an object of colonial expansion into, effectively, a deactivated …show more content…
It seems as though a body of work that is so directly referencing events and figures from history The information provided by the museum, both on the wall of the exhibit and in a short booklet, could have included more information about Admiral Lord Nelson. Much of the text felt very vague and didn’t add to my understanding of the context of the work as much as I would have liked. The text often referenced that Shonibare’s work relates to certain events but doesn’t elaborate on how it relates. With such a small exhibition it seems as though a bit more specific context about the historical events and figures that the work focuses on could have been easily
Upon first encountering the exhibition, I found it interesting that Shonibare utilized such a wide variety of mediums, especially considering how small the exhibition is. The use of multiple mediums, from sculptures to photographs to costumes, illustrate the artist’s attempts to look at the theme of British …show more content…
Many of Shonibare’s pieces directly reference the works of other artists from his self-portrait that replicates Andy Warhol Camouflage Self-Portrait to nineteenth century paintings by Henry Wallis, Édouard Manet and Leonardo Alenza. Shonibare uses emulation to parodize historical depictions of Nelson and to, in a sense, reclaim a violent unjust history. In the piece Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Shonibare recreates Nelson’s ship, HMS Victory. By playfully putting the model inside a glass bottle Shonibare attempts to take power away from colonialists and turn an object of colonial expansion into, effectively, a deactivated …show more content…
It seems as though a body of work that is so directly referencing events and figures from history The information provided by the museum, both on the wall of the exhibit and in a short booklet, could have included more information about Admiral Lord Nelson. Much of the text felt very vague and didn’t add to my understanding of the context of the work as much as I would have liked. The text often referenced that Shonibare’s work relates to certain events but doesn’t elaborate on how it relates. With such a small exhibition it seems as though a bit more specific context about the historical events and figures that the work focuses on could have been easily