Yinka Shonibare MBE: FABRIC–ATION
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
1 March – 1 September 2013
Taking place in three of YSP’s indoor galleries and the open air, FABRIC–ATION features over 30 vibrant works from the period 2002 – 2013 including sculpture, film, photography, painting and collage, with many works never before seen in the UK.
FABRIC–ATION is a unique opportunity for audiences to trace Shonibare’s creative development over the past decade at a time when he is increasingly active in creating work for public space. Two major commissions, the first works in a new series for the UK, premiere in the Park’s Arcadian landscape. Standing over six metres tall, Wind Sculptures (2013) are richly coloured, painted with Shonibare’s signature batik-inspired surface pattern. Although constructed in fibreglass, they appear fluid like fabric caught by the breeze. These follow the recent success of Shonibare’s commissions for the Royal Opera House, London (2012) and the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square (2010).
Further new work on show in the galleries includes Revolution Kids (2012), half-human, half-animal embodiments of an insurrectionist spirit, waving replicas of Colonel Gaddafi’s golden gun and carrying an obligatory Blackberry. Marking the first time that Shonibare has used taxidermy in his practice, these hybrid figures embody the artist’s response to the London Riots where social media was used as a revolutionary tool, and the Arab Spring with its overriding sense of transformation through insurgence. These powerful works reflect the currency and topical fervency of Shonibare’s work in this timely exhibition. Read more at ysp.co.uk/yinka