Yinka Shonibare’s Wind Sculptures explore the artist's interest, begun in 2013, in freezing a moment in time and sculpting the impossible–giving form to the wind. The sculptures' sail-like abstract forms monumentalize the wind as a metaphor for the movement of people across the Globe, and by extension, histories of slavery, migration, colonialism, and empire. This content is further visualized through the vibrant hand-painted patterns that cover the surface of each sculpture–versions of the artist’s signature Dutch wax fabric. These textiles are a recurrent motif in Shonibare's practice due to their rich and complicated history. Often misinterpreted as “authentically” African, Dutch wax textiles originated when the Dutch appropriated Indonesian Batiks and mass-produced their own version in the Netherlands. After failing to hawk their ersatz wares back in Indonesia, the Dutch sold them instead in West Africa, where they ultimately became ubiquitous. These embedded contradictions have made Dutch wax cloth the perfect vehicle for Shonibare to ignite lively visual conversations about our multilayered identities and global interdependence for over 30 years.
WATCH Short Film: Wind Sculptures