Yinka Shonibare MBE

The presentation Yinka Shonibare MBE coincides with the Yale Center for British Art's exhibition Spreading Canvas: Eighteenth-Century British Marine Painting, and will focus on Shonibare’s interest in the British historical figure Admiral Lord Nelson, whom he uses as an emblem of Britain’s imperial history. An important feature of the artist's work is the consistent use of colourful, wax-printed cotton fabrics, which are associated with Africa but originated in Indonesia and Holland, a product of global trade and imperial markets. The fabric sums up the themes at the heart of Shonibare’s work. The exhibition is curated by Martina Droth, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Yale Center for British Art.