Yinka Shonibare is a British artist that was born in London and had to relocate to Nigeria at the age of 3. What made Shonibare so special is that he is a disabled artist. At the age of eighteen, he faced a disorder called transverse myelitis, which caused his spinal cord to inflame. Because of this, half of his body was paralyzed. He did not let that stop him from pursuing his Fine Art degree. He enrolled in Byam Shaw College of Art and Goldsmiths, University of London and earned a Master degree in Fine Art. After he received his degree, he live and work in the East End of London. He also worked in an organization, Shape Art, that allows disabled people to have access and experience arts like anyone else. He is a recognized artist, world-wide. Because in a poll by BBC, he got 67% of the vote as most popular artist. ub 2010 he received an Honorary Doctorate (Fine Artist) of the Royal College of Art.
Shonibare isn’t just a typical artist who specializes in one or two media. He has expertise a wide variety of media such as painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, and film and performance. The subject of his works cover the issues of race and class. he examines the construction of identity. He would also incorporates the traditional African print patterns into this works. Shonibare mixes Western art history and literature to raise the question, “what constitutes out collective contemporary identity today?”
ACKNOWLEDGE: Contents from this blog is taken from http://www.yinkashonibarembe.com/home/
Yinka Shonibare 