From his Wind Series, 2014.

CHICAGO, IL.

This summer, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents the London-based artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, the next artist for the annual plaza series. Shonibare’s installation premieres three sculptures from his new Wind Series. Roughly twenty feet high, each monumental sculpture captures the movement of a billowing bolt of fabric, with designs inspired by the sails of ships, and patterns derived from Dutch wax fabric, or “African” batik. Shonibare works with these iconic fabrics to consider how signs of national or ethnic identity are culturally constructed.

Curated by Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the MCA, the exhibition is on view June 16 to October 31, 2014. Shonibare was born in England, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, in the wake of Nigeria’s struggle for independence. Influenced by his personal experiences living in a newly liberated nation, and the country’s relationship with its former colonial ruler, his wide-ranging works—including photography, sculpture, film, installation, and performance—explore and question the construction of cultural and national identity in a globalized society. In his cross-cultural investigations, Shonibare often examines moments in Western art history, especially the Rococo and Victorian periods that correspond with the early days of transatlantic maritime trade. He is best known for his installations of headless mannequins dressed in clothing made out of Dutch wax fabrics. These colorful fabrics in vibrant patterns have become a sign of cultural pride and identity for Africans, but they are also a colonial invention, having been mass-produced in Southeast Asia and exported by the Netherlands since the mid-19th century. Shonibare is interested in this type of fabric because it is simultaneously manufactured and an authentic sign of “Africanness.”

Yinka Shonibare MBE (British, b. 1962) studied fine art at Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, and received his MFA from Goldsmiths College. He is considered one of the Young British Artists (YBA) generation. He has become well known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism, and issues of race and class, using a wide range of media. Shonibare was a Turner Prize nominee in 2004 and awarded the decoration of Member of the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” (MBE) in 2005. He was commissioned by Okwui Enwezor at Documenta 10 in 2002 to create his most recognized work, Gallantry and Criminal Conversation, and in 2010, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle became his first public art commission in Trafalgar Square. He has exhibited at the Venice Biennial and at leading museums worldwide. In 2013, he was elected Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts. He currently lives and works in the East End of London.

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In the meantime…………

PRESENT YINKA SHONIBARE : ‘EGG FIGHT’ AT FONDATION BLACHÈRE, FRANCE Till 20 September 2014 This summer, Fondation Blachère, Apt, France, is presenting a solo exhibition and new light installation by Yinka Shonibare MBE RA. The exhibition takes its cue from Shonibare’s installation Egg Fight (2009) recently acquired by Fondation Blachère. Inspired by Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels, the piece is a satirical staging of the divisions between Protestants and Catholics through the argument over which end of a boiled egg should be broken, the large or small end. This work reflects Shonibare’s interest in addressing conflicting ideologies observed in culture, politics and society. While in Egg Fight, the two figures prepare to antagonise one another, ballerinas Odile and Odette (2005-2006) engage in a synchronised silent choreography performed in the dual spaces of the dancer and her ‘reflection’. Conceived in collaboration with the Royal Opera House, London, Shonibare’s interpretation pushes Odile’s evil impersonation of Odette in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake by highlighting the multilayered dichotomy between evil and good, dark and light, and their implicit association to skin colour. Also included in the exhibition is the emblematic sculptural installation The Crowning drawing from Jean-Honoré Fragonard and displayed at Musée du Quai Branly, Paris in 2007. Both this piece and the mural installation Little Rich Girls (2010), create a link between leisure, wealth, pleasure, and the slave and colonial systems that contributed to sustain the privileges of the bourgeoisie. Other pieces on show will include Revolution Kid (Calf) (2013), the Fake Death series (2011), and Climate Shit Drawing(2008-2009) lent by various institutions, galleries and private collections. In addition, a four-meter Victorian light dress conceived in collaboration with Blachère Illumination will be exhibited in the fondation’s garden. This exhibition is organised by Fondation Blachère in collaboration with Stephen Friedman Gallery. YINKA SHONIBARE MBE: EGG FIGHT 23 May – 20 September 2014 Centre d’Art de la Fondation Blachère 384, Avenue des Argiles / Zone Industrielle les Bourguignons 84400 Apt France TEL: +33(0)4 32 52 06 15