London-based British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare is known for his installations, sculptures and fabric works characterized by mannequins adorned in elaborate garments. He uses eye-catching African wax print fabrics as a form of artistic commentary on shared histories amongst former colonial states. The prints on these fabrics are borne of the influence of the European states that occupied these erstwhile colonial states. The African wax prints are also sewn clothes popular in eighteenth and nineteenth-century European fashion. In doing this, Shonibare probes notions of identity and heritage from a complex post-colonial lens. These artworks bring attention to how the identities of former colonies are no longer purely theirs yet are simultaneously.
Shonibare also reverses persevering colonial power imbalances by fashioning African fabric into European-style clothes. In this circumstance, the colonizing power has now become colonized, appropriated and forced to confront their histories so that former colonies can move forward equitably. Shonibare's intention here is closely tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Reduced Inequalities.
Yonibare’s artworks begin with an understanding of the origins of African wax prints. The presence of these colourful and eye-catching fabrics in Africa can be traced back to the Dutch in the nineteenth century. The Dutch first aspired to trade Indonesian batiks, another fabric from another Dutch colony. They thought of mass-producing and selling them in Holland. However, at the time, batiks proved unpopular in Europe—a revelation which led Dutch traders to turn their attention to West Africa as their batik market. They were right—the fabric gained widespread popularity in Africa and became an integral part of local identity and culture. Hence, Shonibare's use of African wax print textiles becomes a powerful symbol of the enduring legacy of colonialism and the interwoven histories of former colonial nations and peoples.
His seminal installation which employs the fabric, is Party Time: Re-imagine America. Shonibare dressed headless mannequins in popular eighteenth-century European fashion in this piece, tailored from African wax print fabric. The mannequins have gathered for a lavish dinner. Their table has been adorned with crystal bowls overflowing with food and wax print blossoms.
The figures attending this macabre dinner look like they are interacting with one another in a rather forced friendliness, reminding viewers of the intricate web of international relationships forged through centuries of colonial rule and cultural exchange. The mannequins’ terra-cotta complexions add to Shonibare’s questions about race and identity in post-colonial nations where an imbalance of power has persisted between the often fair-skinned colonizer and dark-skinned colonized, something that can still be sensed in colourism that favours lighter-skinned individuals in former colonies.
Party Time: Re-imagine America was a site-specific installation for Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey. The juxtaposition of Shonibare's installation with the ornate interiors of the museum highlights the piece’s ongoing dialogue with past and present simultaneously. In these spaces once inhabited by only the upper class, Shonibare's figures disrupt the veneer of exclusivity, inviting viewers to reexamine historical narratives contained within museums. These spaces are often products of the ruling class, who have historically profited from colonialism and whose collections come with troubling histories of looting from Indigenous populations.
In another series, Boomerang: Returning to African Abstraction, he delves deeper into cultural appropriation and representation of colonizers and former colonies. The series is composed of quilts and tapestries like Modern Spiritual (Fang Ngil, Kumbaduba), in which Shonibare visibly portrays African cultural artifacts, particularly African masks.
Here, Shonibare also interrogates the power dynamics that have shaped their international reception and interpretation. African cultural artifacts are often internationally recognized due to their portrayal by Western artists like Picasso and Picabia. These artists do not come from African backgrounds but have gained popularity by appropriating African artifacts into their pieces. Take, for example, Picasso’s renowned Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which portrays French sex workers’ faces in the style of African masks. These histories are often sidelined when people speak of Picasso and his seemingly 'original' cubist movement.
With renewed calls for racial justice and social change gaining traction today, Shonibare's work is a powerful reminder of the enduring legacy of colonialism and the urgent need to address the inequalities that have persisted in post-colonial countries. His art invites viewers to reimagine the world they inhabit if it had been untouched by colonialism. It asks them to confront the shadows of the past and forge a path toward a more just and equitable future for former colonies and their people.