Auckland Art Gallery is delighted to present for the first time in New Zealand the work of one the United Kingdom's most sought after contemporary artists Yinka Shonibare MBE. The exhibition Yinka Shonibare MBE, named after the artist himself, runs from 28 February 2009 to 1 June 2009, before touring to the Brooklyn Museum in New York and then onto the Smithsonian Institution, Was

Auckland Art Gallery is delighted to present for the first time in New Zealand the work of one the United Kingdom's most sought after contemporary artists Yinka Shonibare MBE. The exhibition Yinka Shonibare MBE, named after the artist himself, runs from 28 February 2009 to 1 June 2009, before touring to the Brooklyn Museum in New York and then onto the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.Shonibare works with diverse artistic media to explore ideas about African contemporary identity and the legacy of European colonialism in the present. His work seeks to playfully stimulate debate about culture, authenticity and issues of identity today.

Encompassing painting, sculpture, large-scale mixed media installations, photography and most recently film, Shonibare's practice is linked by theoretical concerns centred upon social class and aesthetics, and the use of recurring visual symbols such as 'Dutch wax' fabric.

In 2004, Shonibare was shortlisted for the Tate's prestigious Turner Prize for his solo exhibition Double Dutch. The following year, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), an award that he has accepted with some irony, given the critical focus of this work.

Shonibare was recently selected as the artist who will create the 2010 commission for the Fourth Plinth, the United Kingdom's most prestigious public art commission, in Trafalgar Square, London.

Background on Yinka Shonibare MBE Shonibare was born in London in 1962 and moved to Lagos Nigeria at the age of three. He returned to London to complete his A levels and study fine arts, first at the Byam Shaw School of Art London and then at Godlsmiths College London where he received his MA. He has exhibited in leading museums worldwide and participated in seminal exhibitions such as: Sensations, Royal Academy of Arts, London (1997); 49th Venice Biennale (2001); Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany (2002); Double Dress Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2003) touring; Double Dutch, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam (2004) touring; Africa Remix, various venues (2005-6); Check List Luanada Pop, African Pavilion (2007); 52nd Venice Biennale (2007); Jardin d'Amour, Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, France (2007), and Scratch the Surface, The National Gallery, London (2007). In 2004, Shonibare was nominated for the Turners Prize. In 2005, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Image: Yinka Shonibare
Odile and Odette (still) 2005,
high definition video,
courtesy of the artist, James Cohan Gallery, New York and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London © the artist

28/01/09