Over the past decade Yinka Shonibare MBE, a British-Nigerian artist living in London, has become well known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalization. Working in painting, sculpture, photography, film and performance, Shonibare’s work examines race, class and the construction of cultural identity through sharp political commentary of the tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe and their respective economic and political histories.
Wind Sculpture IV features a unique pattern inspired by textiles that European colonists produced based on Indonesian batik patterns and resold in Africa. Despite the fabric’s cultural origins, it is commonly mistaken as indigenously “African.” The monumental sculpture, nearly 20 feet tall and 11 feet at the widest point, suggests a swathe of Dutch wax cloth billowing in the wind and makes poetic reference to the integral role this natural force played in colonial expansion: “I’m fascinated by movement and dynamism. I aspire to capture a particular moment in each piece; my headless sculptural figures refer to the broader colonial period, while these Wind Sculptures conjure the tangible from the intangible – transforming the transience of a passing breeze into something fixed and monumental.”
Artist: Yinka Shonibare (Instagram/Website)
Location: Hermann Park
Date: 2015
Type: Temporary Artwork Loan
Role: Lead Project Manager at Weingarten Art Group
Photos courtesy of Weingarten Art Group