Yinka Shonibare MBE, Girl Balancing Knowledge, 2015, Fibreglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, books, globe and steel baseplate, 179 x 139 x 89 cm, Image courtesy the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, Photographer: Stephen White

In contrast with the Yinka Shonibare MBE’s previous work, which addressed universal political concerns, this new series returns to the essence of the imagination, an exploration of the subjective and the subconscious that is inspired by surrealism. For the first time, the artist will utilise his childhood memories in Nigeria, dividing the exhibition into two parts: new surrealist sculptures along with several screen prints.

Shonibare draws on surrealism as both an artistic and political movement aimed at the liberation of the human being from the constraints of capitalism, the state, and the cultural forces that limit the reign of the imagination. The first part of the exhibition comprises two new fantastical sculptures based on the artist’s childhood memories when he lived in Lagos, Nigeria. Shonibare was born in Britain, but his family moved to Lagos when he was three years old. These dreamlike sculptures evoke poetic surrealist juxtapositions, exploring the artist’s half-remembered childhood tales, as well as the constructed and fictitious memories of childhood, folklore, and tradition.

In Girl Balancing Knowledge, a girl precariously balances books on her left hand, likely to collapse in a heap. She kicks her right foot over to her left as if in a silent, surreal dance of joy. Education was highly valued in Shonibare’s family, which is why he returned to Britain at 17 years old to sit his A-levels. This work acts as a metaphor that bridges his time in Lagos and London, a move that was driven by his hunger for knowledge.

The artist’s trademark material is the brightly coloured African batik fabric he purchases at Brixton market in London, which can be seen throughout the exhibition. The fabric was inspired by Indonesian design, mass-produced by the Dutch, and eventually sold to the colonies in West Africa where it became a new sign of African identity and independence in the 1960s. The fabric makes up the clothes on the figures of Shonibare’s new sculptures.

Yinka Shonibare MBE 因卡 • 修尼巴尔 MBE b.
1962
Twins III 双胞胎III, 2015
4 colour silkscreen print with gold leafing on
310gsm Somerset Tub paper 四色丝网印刷、金
箔、纯棉艺术纸 （310 磅）
100 x 100 cm
(39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.)
Edition of 20

For the first time at Pearl Lam Galleries, this exhibition will spread across two spaces at Gillman Barracks. A new space near block 5 will be home to the artist’s new body of work, while Pearl Lam Galleries’ original space in block 9 will be transformed into a screening room which will show two separate documentaries about Yinka Shonibare MBE, allowing visitors to find out more about the artist’s life and practice.

Venues: Pearl Lam Galleries, 5 Lock Road, #01-06, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108933
Screening room: Pearl Lam Galleries, 9 Lock Road, #03-02, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108937

Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–7pm; Sunday, 12–6pm

When: 21 Jan - 13 Mar 2016,

By: Pearl Lam Galleries Singapore