Yinka Shonibare: Art, Politics - Research Paper

Introduction

Artwork of Yinka Shonibare has an excellent relationship in the Roland Barthes's book where argues that a dress has several functions. A dress beautifies, protect as well as exchange and communicate information with others through commenting and advertising himself.

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Interestingly, through the late fifties where African independence was at the peak, and people were opposed from wearing Dutch wax material. Fashion and politics were combined during the independence euphoria days to neutralise and advertise the legitimacy of the different types of African political movements. According to Yinka Dux wax dress was one of the celebrated codes due to the inscription of unique writings they have, Bloc Africain. The name was one of the political parties which were created by Leopold Sedan, the father of Negritude movement in the 1950s. The inscription became out of date during the 1957 fervent campaign by Sekou Toure. This paper presents a different type of clothing and fashion which were combined during the independence to explain the transition in a way which has been evident in the African population as modernity take control of governance (Thomas 124). The modern styles in fashion were guaranteed a concrete road to modernity as men and women all over Africa become free from the populist notion of self-determination, immediate freedom and independence. Overall, the design reveals a new way of communication of sex and power which is exhibited by women primarily through the wax which they wear to the market. This paper focuses on discussing as well as analyses Yinka Shonibare artworks and their relationship modern fashion and African independence. It captures many ways and dresses which were celebrated during African autonomy.

Born in 1962, Yinka was one of the British-Nigerian artists who is living in the United Kingdom. Most of his works explore colonialism, post-colonialism and cultural identity within the context of contemporary globalization (Wild 142). The hallmark of Yinka's art is associated with brightly coloured Dutch wax fabrics which he often uses. Similarly, most of his other works explore social issues of colonialism, race and class amidst the escalation of sculptures, installation art as well as performance and film. Yinka examines the construction of tangled interrelationship and identity between Europe and Africa concerning political and economic histories.

The key material in the artwork of Yinka is the Dutch wax-printed cotton which was discovered as early as 1994 and defines his work from others. The fabrics were not authentically African as might be thought by most Africans. Most of them have a cultural crossbred at the background which was unique from all other forms. According to Shonibare fabrics were first manufactured in Europe before being sold to other parts of the world. However, in other artworks such as Mr and Mrs Andrew Without their Heads, a pair of life-sized mannequins headless with overt Gainsborough batik print costume is presented by Shonibare. Shonibare asserts that dressing implications and reference are a dark representation of colonialist respectability of the Dark Continent in the rampant savagery and uncivilised historical prejudice. The revelation in Mrs Andrew's in a neatly crossed feet was very prime concerning the florid which are richly-patterned fabrics on the bodice and skirt through a reference from the Brixton market. The main unanswered question is the escalation of Mrs Andrews neat feet in the rhythm in Africa. The loss of head by Mrs Andrew in Shonibare artwork was believed to have been influenced by unfamiliar black heat. However, the post-colonial twist in Shonibare shows that his disability played a vital role in swathing the dominant and inauthee region led to its spread to Africa. The material which Shonibare used for aesthetic melange was hybrid postcolonial fixity texts which gesture to the transition spaces which are opened up by the artistic world. For instance, the theoretical recognition reveals that enunciation splits up space to open the way for international culture conceptualization (Probst 134). However, it pays more attention to the printed fabrics which cover several African designs and aesthetics. The installation of these wax fabric materials connotes with the African post-independent context. They reveal a significant combination of wax fabrics for subversive and performativity clothing and fashion. The use of Dutch wax print fabric in most of Shonibare's costumes portrays a complex ambiguity in stage setting and film production.

Similarly, Shonibare toys with several stereotypes of the exotic, extravagant colours as well as wildly clashing patterns to ascertain the intended patterns without interfering with most of the sacred icons in the dominating culture. In one of the interviews, Shonibare revealed that his art strategy aimed at provoking the deliberate art forms which are original and cultural current in the fashion exoneration. In one recent solo exhibition known as "play with me", and intruding art form from Shonibare works known as Maxa was installed. The colonised wall which was associated with the art form revealed batik print fabrics which are not celebrated by most African nations but is also a popular figure across Europe. Maxa has circular panels which are covered in a multitude of mass-produced signature and batik print fabrics (Drace 243). Most of its forms are overlaid with crudely primitive motifs and sketches from numerous sources. The interfaces and clashes which are the outcomes of the juxtaposed patterns, texture and colour make up the most massive scale of heroic and abstract painting which easily is undermined with other art forms.

Additionally, Maxa relates to a scrap of gingham, lace, chintz as well as another feminine paraphilia which brings together all the significant bits together for substantial clothing. Maxa also mimics high modernism although it still uses low cloth, bash colouration, paintwork to fake ethnic patterning for tremendous effect (Thomas, 112). The use of African clothing is embraced by in many nations because of their mild explanation of different cultural influences as well as the inclusion of unique pattern, Shonibare emphasises in this to create a particular motif in the modern fashion. Notably, other artworks by Shonibare have orange shamrock that illuminates possibilities concerning colonialism which was evident in most Africans nations. Maxa was an installation of emulsions on the panels of circular textiles which are collected from the cobalt blue wall. The resultant texture clashes which portray a heroic or large-scale in the abstract painting is easily undermined as meaningful paint by the formation and textile materiality from other smaller coloured multiples on the wall. The colonised wall is used by Shonibare to remove the exclusive motifs and norm from the standard white gallery cube which is immersed in its blue lush. Industrially produced batik fabric prints are used to cover the circular panels for the intoxication of the made signature. They are also overlaid with crudely primitive paintwork to create additional drawn intriguing motifs which come from all manners of sources (Drace 134).

Consequently, the resultant texture clashes make up a heroic or large-scale abstract painting which is easily undermined as meaningful paint by its formation and textile materiality from smaller coloured multiples on the wall. The quilt in other textiles relates to labels and chintz with a low cloth. This type of clothing which is exercised in most of his artworks exhibits the nature of humiliations which Africans were exposed to in their attempts to defend the colonial power (Bernier 167). Significantly, lack of autonomy and exemplary consistency is his art reveals that he depended on the primitive forms to make exemplary twits in the choices he intends to portray as a cognitive art form.

Shonibare's art also defies several easily categorisation in most of his media experiments. For instance, the Double Dutch (1994), extensive work is created through painting rectangle on the wall before creating several stretches on its grid under the ubiquitous Dutch wax fabric cover (Kaplan 124). The inception of the art was done through using several textiles to create costumes which are similar to the Victorian mannequin's style. Most of these mannequins such as the Scramble for Africa, which were brightly coloured had no heads while others had objects similar to the globe to replace the human leaders, for example, 2011, "Planets in My Head Philosophy." Shonibare also created a series of photographs which features himself as tableaux variety dandy. He further portrayed Oscar Wilde as the main protagonist to the escalation of culture and their influence.

Similarly, most of his works made massive references to early paintings which were done by old artists. His repertoire techniques are expanded to include films for shaping the face of modern fashion and styles. Notably, in 2012, a life-sized ballerina who is encased in giant snow was created by Shonibare to display some of the essential shapes which have been assumed by most artists. The globe had ballerina and ballerina revolution sculptures which were made in the Dutch wax were regarded as forms of soft hybrid fabrications which are found in the highest culture of the European art (Schneider 145). Shonibare utilises all the identifiable signs which are prudent in signifying the viewer's gaze in the past histories and civility and cultural fixity which are tied in the authentic notions.

Moreover, in terms of composition and pleasure, Shonibare created a submerged view in a colourful masquerade which involves saturation, texture and theoretically of the senses. Common themes of excess and decadences are vividly and visually explored in his films, photographs and painting which are poignant of a multitude of several brightly coloured fabrics of Dutch wax (Meier 248). Similarly, Shonibare works draw pulsating vibrancy which brings massive pleasure in the viewing experience. Notably, happiness is the most significant notion among most artists. Shonibare also considers himself as a hedonist as well as strong subversives which he uses to rein his artistic empire (Probst 135). Beneath most of his hoards are colourful fabrics and superfluous splendour for illustration of compelling story and ignored history as portrayed in the "La Meduse (2008)."He also uses a visually seductive approach for controversial and difficult issues. The artworks of Shonibare forge a resonant connection in the contemporary forms to other historical works which are collected in exhibition centres (Saggese et al. 98). These twists reveal that a comprehensive understanding of practices for appropriate practice appropriation and the dysfunctions of the works which are being referenced.This is because of mild hindrances which are employed in the use of different colouration and motifs to define the actual meanings of the portrayed art and other issues that surround them. Motifs are troubled through these processes, but the focus is still justified across several avenues. For instance, "Mr and Mrs Andrew without their Heads" reveals a hidden meaning in African colonisation....