Cathy's Art Diary

Colourful and thoughtful exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery of new work by Yinka Shonibare. I always enjoy Shonibare’s work which combines a beautiful object with a serious debate. I loved the room of works called “Decolonised Structures”, scaled down public sculptures decorated in his signature Dutch wax patterns representing colonial figures. I must admit I had to look a couple of them up but part of the point it to stimulate debate. The central room had a wonderful set of small, black models of houses, churches and public buildings in a dark room, lined with the Dutch wax material and lit from the inside. All the buildings have been considered places of refuge for persecuted and vulnerable groups. It would have been nice to have more information on the buildings in the show but I’ve just found it in the excellent booklet. Finally there was a reworking of a previous piece recreating a library of books covered in the signature material this time with three names of conflicts ...

Colourful exhibition at the Stephen Friedman of new work by Yinka Shonibare. This show included some of Shonibare's signature sculptures featuring brightly coloured waxed Ankara fabric. I particularly liked this life-sized horse and rider which comments on colonialism but also remined me of Papageno in The Magic Flute. Complementing this statue were some large applique quilts featuring large, colourful, endangered birds. Alongside Shonibare's work was a group presentation of work by African artists and the African diaspora curated by the artist some of whom had participated   in a residency programme he runs in Lagos. This work seemed duller in comparison but it set up an interesting dialogue. Closed 11 November 2023

Colourful and thoughtful exhibition over two of the Stephen Friedman Galleries of new work by Yinka Shonibare. The work explores the relationship between African Aesthetics and western modernism. The first room was three large sculptures of mythical hyrid beings like classical statues with their heads replaces by replicas of the African masks collected by Picasso and painted in Shonibare’s signature Ankara fabric patterns. The second room was an installation of masks in bright colours, shown here, with archive film of African influences in the early 20th century. Over the road the second gallery had quilts in the signature fabrics in Harlequin patterns as another nod to Picasso. I am fond of Shonibare’s work when it appears in various exhibitions and it was interesting to see it a selecting of it on it’s own to appreciate the subtlety of the ideas it is portraying. Closes 31 July 2021  

Colourful installation at Tate Modern by Yinka Shonibare. I had seen this work before when it was shown at Brighton Library a number of years ago and loved it then and   love it now. It consists of over 2000 books, recovered in Shonibare’s signature Dutch wax print fabric, with the names of first and second generation immigrants to Britain on the spine plus names of people who have famously opposed immigration. It is now accompanied by a website with up to date material on the topis //thebritishlibrrayinstallation.com. I love the detail of this work as you can stand and read the spines and think of all the stories behind them however it is also a very striking piece as a whole and warms the heart of this librarian. Closes 17 November 2019 Review Evening Standard

An insightful installation by Yinka Shonibare at the Old Reference Library in Brighton as part of the Brighton Festival. This consisted of thousands of reclaimed books bound in his trademark African inspired wax cloth a hybrid of Indonesian design and Dutch manufacture. Many had gold foil spines with the name of familiar people who has immigrated to England such as Darcey Bussell, Handel and T.S. Eliot. They were put back onto the shelves of the old library. The idea was to create a record of immigrants who have made an impression on British culture. This was a beautiful work but because the contents of the books themselves did not matter, because no one was taking them off the shelves and reading them and because the centre of the room was empty of desk and clutter I found the show had a rather deadening cold effect.   But then that might just be the librarian in me speaking!

The newest public art work to be put on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is a model of HMS Victory in a bottle with African inspired batik sails by Yinka Shonibare. I went up to see it on the day it was unveiled and it’s great! The shape and size fit the plinth well and it is lovely to have some colour in that space. From a distance it is sometimes difficult to see the ship for the reflections on the bottle and having read some of the reviews it is a shame it is hard to see the wonderful detail on the ship from below. However all in all it is a wonderful addition to the Square and I look forward to seeing it every day on my way form work to Charring Cross. Reviews Times Guardian Daily Telegraph Independent

Small Room 1 exhibition at the National Gallery to commemorate 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade bringing together "Mrs Oswald" by Zoffany and "Colonel Tarleton" by Reynolds to look at their and their families role in the trade. Also looked at the role of slave trade money in art collection of the C18th and how those collections formed the foundation galleries such at the National itself. The initial core of the collection was given by John Julius Angerstein (of whom their is a portrait in the exhibition) who was instrumental in the development of LLoyds which profited from insuring slave ships amongst others and who also had shares in Caribbean plantations. The Room 1 exhibition was complimented by new work by Yinka Shonibore MBE both in that gallery and Room 36 where the two main portraits usually hang, which explores the effects of the wealth created by the trade on society. The main work were two headless figures shooting birds with clothes mirror...