Beschreibung:

PROPERTY FROM THE KIT FINANCE COLLECTION Yinka Shonibare Two works: 19th Century Kid (Benjamin Disraeli) & 19th Century Kid (William Gladstone) 2000 Two sculptures comprised of wood, fabric collage, amethyst, metal chain, and metal supports. Each sculpture: 167.6 x 71.7 x 73 cm (66 x 28 1/4 x 28 3/8 in).
Provenance Stephen Friedman Gallery, London Catalogue Essay “What I want to suggest is that there is no such thing as a natural signifier, that the signifier is always constructed in other words, that what you represent things with is a form of mythology.” Yinka Shonibare Nourished by ambiguity, Yinka Shonibare turns his artworks into the protagonists of his very own fairy-tale utopia. At first sight, the Turner Prize nominee’s art appears cheerful, decorative, rich in colour and easy to enjoy. On further examination, however, this initial impression develops into a more profound and darker understanding. Wittily playing with metaphors, Shonibare’s art engages in concepts such as identity, authenticity, and transformation whilst always including an autobiographical link. Born in London, raised in Nigeria and later to return to London, Shonibare uses his art to broach central issues of his personal history, such as cultural hybridisation and post-colonialism. The series 19th Century Kid depicts child-sized, headless mannequins which are dressed in costumes deliberately reminiscent of 19th-century Britain. Strikingly, the colourful fabric used in the imitation Victorian clothing is generally associated with African dress. However, Shonibare sets us on the wrong track. Labelled as African, the fabric actually originates from Indonesia, introduced to the African continent by British manufacturers via Dutch colonisers. Apart from synthesising multiple readings of this kind, Shonibare’s aim is to construct a fiction which conveys the underlying truth of contemporary society. Read More