Yinka Shonibare MBE: "Nelson's Ship in a Bottle" | Art21 "Exclusive"

Episode #111: Yinka Shonibare MBE discusses the theatricality and sense of wonder inherent in his public sculpture "Nelson's Ship in a Bottle," installed on the 4th Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London. Situated across from "Nelson's Column," a monument erected to honor Admiral Lord Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, the brightly-colored sails of Shonibare's boat reference the complex heritage of British colonialism and its multicultural present.

Known for using batik in costumed dioramas that explore race and colonialism, Yinka Shonibare MBE also employs painting, sculpture, photography, and film in work that disrupts and challenges our notions of cultural identity. Taking on the honorific MBE as part of his name in everyday use, Shonibare plays with the ambiguities and contradictions of his attitude toward the Establishment and its legacies of colonialism and class. In multimedia projects that reveal his passion for art history, literature, and philosophy, Shonibare provides a critical tour of Western civilization and its achievements and failures.

Learn more about Yinka Shonibare MBE: http://www.art21.org/artists/yinka-shonibare-mbe

VIDEO | Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Susan Sollins. Camera: Ian Serfontein. Sound: Paul Stadden & Luke Williams. Editor: Joaquin Perez. Artwork Courtesy: Yinka Shonibare MBE. Thanks: Tamsin Selby & Greater London Authority.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• art
• artist
• visual
• contemporary
• yinka shonibare mbe
• admiral lord nelson
• trafalgar square
• london
• great britain
• nelson's column
• 4th plinth
• public art
• sculpture
• installation
• hms victory
• ship in a bottle
• alchemy
• race

[tincoffin]

Love the sculpture. It should stay !

[sanddragon99]

I wonder if there is any footage of this ship actually being bottled!

[Gewok666]

Stop talking bollocks.

[ambarawio]

good

[sheelagh643]

Why is Africa so held back...fascinating, love this work.

[Mousytales]

I found your video to be very expressive of what you believe art is. I enjoyed your video very much.

[lazzile]

Thank You for featuring Yinka's work!

[PatriciaSahertian]

this is a wonderful and monumental piece of work with so many layers of understanding and interest. thank you art 21 for always bringing interesting artists and their work to us. i listen very intently to what they have to say and what art means to each person who creates it.

[newhippy]

possibley he has a disability or he is very shy!...which may have something to do with how he holds his neck!...however its his art we are supposed to be looking at not the artist...he is a person not a work of art!. I love his work and think he has a message to deliver...this one comes in a bottle!. Peace

[kevinflory]

it's a fun piece.