Reflective Summary

Yinka Shonibare is a remarkable artist who uses historical and modern ideas to create aesthetically interesting works of art. He creates tableaus that often reference historical works of art. He uses these classical allusions to add depth of meaning to his work. Yink Shonibare makes his work relevant to modern society by exploring the themes of colonization and aristocracy. These issues relate to the modern day situation of post-coloinzation Nigeria, as well as the vast separation of wealth in society. More recently, his work has become more performance based. I feel that this is a natural progression for his work. He started his practice by creating scenes to photograph, then moved to displaying the scenes. Now, Yinka Shonibare uses the scenes in motion in order to convey more information through his work.
Over the course of this research project, I explored the ideas of headlessness, Dandyism, Aristocracy, Nigerian history, YBA's. I also learned about batik fabric, and disabled artists. This exploration has expanded my knowledge significantly on Nigeria and England. This opportunity to explore new subjects will impact my in practice in positive ways.  I have begun to use colors reminiscent of Yinka Shonibare's batik fabric. I am also seeing increased value in three dimensional work. After seeing the natural progression of Yinka Shonibare's work, I am contemplating the possibility of purifying my practice. Yinka Shonibare is able to remove distractions and unnecessary components of his work by showing the essence of what he is trying to say.