Yinka Shonibare CBE Planets in my Head, Young Explorer, 2019 Fibreglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, globe, brass, steel base plate and free-standing globe Work: 135 x 67 x 144 cm
Yinka Shonibare CBE (b. 1962, London, UK) is known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the context of globalization. He was awarded the honour of ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire’ in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List.
Planets in My Head is a series of sculptures by Shonibare set against the current context of global anxiety about the planet. The sculptures all incorporate a globe-like form in the position of a head, which ties into the idea of breaking with traditional and established Western canons of knowledge. This concept is illustrated using the figure of children in the sculptures, who all bear Western tools which subvert our ideas around a European-inspired understanding of the world. These figures have seemingly departed Earth, entering other galaxies where they may resist the formalisation of knowledge that the West has set up. In turn, the sculptures re- imagine our dominant bodies of knowledge to create a new globalised perspective.
