Yinka Shonibare MBE’s Sculptural Explorations of Race, Class

Yinka Shonibare MBE blends fiberglass figures, Dutch wax-printed cotton fabric, metal, handpainted globes, and more to craft sculptures that explore race, economics, and other social issues. The artist’s mixing of textures, materials, and cultural iconography offers complexity past an initial scan. He was last featured on HiFructose.com.

“Working in painting, sculpture, photography, film and performance, Shonibare’s work examines race, class and the construction of cultural identity through sharp political commentary of the tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe and their respective economic and political histories,” a statement says. “Having described himself as a postcolonial hybrid, Shonibare uses wry citations of Western art history and literature to question the validity of contemporary cultural and national identities.”

See more of the artist’s work below.