London: Artwork of Briton of Nigerian descent unveiled
Charles Ajunwa in London
Monday, May 24, 2010

A Briton of Nigerian descent Mr. Yinka Shonibare became the first African artist to have his work unveiled at the famous Trafalgar Square, London.


Yinka Shonibare, pictured here at the sculpture's unveiling in Trafalgar Square, says: 'Nelson's victory freed up the seas for the British, and that led, in turn, to the London we know today: an exciting, diverse, multicultural city. Maybe this is just a monument to live, and let live'
Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Crowds gather in London's Trafalgar Square to inspect the fourth plinth's latest occupant, Yinka Shonibare's giant replica of the ship that won the war (of Trafalgar, that is), the HMS Victory
Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
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Unveiling the sculpture for the Fourth Plinth titled “Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle”, Mayor of London, Mr. Boris Johnson, said he was delighted that Shonibare’s piece coincided with the year Nigeria would be marking its 50th independence anniversary.

The Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc, Mr. Tayo Aderinokun, said the bank was proud to sponsor the artwork, adding that it had put Nigeria positively on the world map.

On his part, the artist said he was proud to be a Nigerian, adding that he would love to come back to Nigeria and introduce his style of art to the upcoming artists.

The mayor, who commended the artist for his creative imagination, said the ship in a bottle reminded him of Horatio Nelson’s victory 205 years ago against the French/Spanish navy, which he acknowledged “paved the way for British mastery of the seas, the abolition of slave trade and all sorts of things”.

Speaking on the coincidence of the unveiling of Shonibare’s sculptural piece at the Square, Johnson said: “I am delighted that we are able to do this on a year that Nigeria is marking its 50th anniversary of independence and it’s fantastic that the prize has been commissioned by Yinka Shonibare, who is a great Anglo-Nigerian sculptor and artist. I think it brings together the best of Nigerian culture and the British culture as well.”

Aderinokun after the unveiling of the artwork said: “I feel very great. This piece by Yinka Shonibare is a fantastic work and which we are extremely proud to be able to be associated with bringing it to London Trafalgar Square.

“We think that it’s a wonderful opportunity for Nigeria and Nigerians, for Nigerian arts and for the country in general. In this year of GTB’s 20th anniversary, we think it’s a wonderful thing that we can come out to the world and actually showcase something positive about Africa and we are very glad to be part of it.”

[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2010/may/25/thisday/images/Artist-Yinka-Shonibare-in-001[1].jpg[/img]
Yinka Shonibare, pictured here at the sculpture's unveiling in Trafalgar Square, says: 'Nelson's victory freed up the seas for the British, and that led, in turn, to the London we know today: an exciting, diverse, multicultural city. Maybe this is just a monument to live, and let live'
Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Shonibare said his work is a celebration of the multiculturalism of London and the international nature of the city.

“My work is basically a ship in a bottle and it’s a ship called HMS Victory and the sails are made of batik and batik is Indonesian influence about fabric produced by the Dutch and also by the British for sales in Africa,” he said.

“So, that is why the fabrics are now very popular in Africa. So, in a way, there is an international twist to my work as well,” he said.

[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2010/may/25/thisday/images/HMS-Victory-returns-to-Tr-001[1].jpg[/img]
Crowds gather in London's Trafalgar Square to inspect the fourth plinth's latest occupant, Yinka Shonibare's giant replica of the ship that won the war (of Trafalgar, that is), the HMS Victory
Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

http://odili.net/news/source/2010/may/25/1.html

- Im still trying to find out whats so exciting about the whole small things in a bottle art.- White and asians go crazy over it.

good shiot tho

@ Sjeezy, its the idea behind the art,  It harks back to the golden age of the British empire,  The British love nothing more than to bask in their past glory (who wouldnt).

All the same, congrats to Yinka.

^^^^^^^^^^ Her?

I just wonder why he used African fabrics. A lot of people think the artwork is worthless and a bloody waste a of taxpayers' money just because of the fabrics. They said he did not put any historic representation of Britain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280834/Trafalgar-Square-Fourth-Plinth-Yinka-Shonibare-unveils-Nelson-s-Ship-In-A-Bottle.html

Although as he said, Ankara is originally Indonesian and was exported to Africa by the Dutch and British in the 1800s. Also I heard the ship had more features than he portrayed so it is not a an exact replica. So much beef for the artwork because of the Africanness of the fabrics. Na wa oh!

They are just hating because he is black.

^^
Exactly. Somebody even said that his hair has capsized his head.

Mr Shonibare and the likes of Helen Grant (Conservative MP) and Mr Chuka Umunna (Labour MP) should keep the Naija flag flying,

mama-gee:

Good for her!

Him, or Her@topic. High octane.

I love his work.

His  ship in a bottle  is the largest of it's type ever constructed.
The  1st picture shows the scale of the work.

The 2nd picture shows his love of Wax Cotton.

freshera:

^^
Exactly. Somebody even said that his hair has capsized his head.

now that's the shiot right there