Yinka Shonibare CBE presents 'End of Empire'
For 'End of Empire' Yinka Shonibare CBE explored how the new alliances forged in the First World War changed British society forever and continue to affect us today. The work was co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Turner Contemporary.
Shonibare’s work featured two of his signature figures attired in African fabrics, their globe-heads highlighting the countries involved in WW1. Offering a metaphor for dialogue, balance and conflict, the entire work pivoted almost imperceptibly in the gallery space, symbolising the possibility of compromise and resolution between two opposing forces.
How has immigration contributed to the British culture in which we live today? How have immigrants shaped what it means to be British? These are the questions Shonibare asked in 'The British Library', a sculptural work presented alongside 'End of Empire' at Turner Contemporary. Shelves of books, many bearing the name of an immigrant who has enriched our society (from TS Eliot to Zaha Hadid), reminded us that the displacement of communities by global war has consequences that inform our lives and attitudes today.
During the display of 'End of Empire' at Turner Contemporary, Shonibare was joined in discussion by Dr Meera Sabaratnam, International Relations lecturer at SOAS; and Al Jazeera journalist and author of 'Another’s Man War', Barnaby Phillips.
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Topics covered include Shonibare’s upbringing in Nigeria and how this has influenced his practice; the vast global dimension of WW1 and the experiences of the millions of soldiers drawn from all corners of the Empire; and how it was the aftermath of WW1 that gave birth to the study of International Relations.
