Prejudice at Home: A Parlour, a Library and a Room

James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA

17 February – 18 March 2017

Prejudice at Home: A Parlour, a Library, and a Room features three major installations, which together demonstrate Yinka Shonibare’s multivalent approach to the theme of “otherness.” The works span two decades of wide-ranging explorations into individual and collective identity as viewed through the lens of history. Today, these artworks wield an ever greater urgency as a reminder that unchecked prejudice can cripple a society.


On view are the freestanding installation The Victorian Philanthropist’s Parlour, 1996-97, the photo suite Dorian Gray, 2001 and the US premiere of Shonibare’s more recent large scale work The British Library, which has been a sensation since its first presentation at the Brighton Festival in 2014.   

The Victorian Philanthropist’s Parlour, 1996-97, on view at Prejudice at Home: A Parlour, a Library and a Room, James Cohan Gallery, New York, 17 February - 18 March 2017. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York.