Can't believe I've been doing this a year now, where has that gone eh?
One thing is for certain with my blog, your never long away from your next post about YSP! So here's my latest.
When I last popped to the wonderful YSP in April it was to see the Yinka Shonibare exhibit in the YSP Centre, Underground Gallery and Church and the work of Gareth Evans up at the Longside Gallery.
I've definitely seen some of Gareth's work before. I quite like his 'floor height' work.
Yinka Shonibare's work was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was colorful and bright, political and poignant. It spoke of global warming, the pointlessness of war, race and stereotypes.
The works displayed at YSP until 01.09.13 span a decade of his work and include films, photography, painting, collage and sculpture. This is truly an exhibition not to be missed.
None of his works feature human faces or human skin tones, so as to remove a racial or cultural context from the object. He also uses taxidermy and modern devices such as mobile phones alongside one of the oldest gadgets of control, guns.
Most of his creations or characters are made from, or wearing, batik fabrics. They look African and certainly make the viewer think of Africa, but they were in fact first massed produced in Holland, a juxtaposition that no doubt appealed to Yinka.
There is a particularly sad 'sculpture' of two 'men' shooting each other through a wall of eggs. Eventually they will shoot a hole through the eggs and kill each other. The shattered eggs, I presume, reflect the wasted lives due to wars fought between abstract political figures or leaders/ kings. There was something particularly sad and futile about this piece, it got its point across perfectly!
Actually, just checked the YSP website, and the piece is called 'Egg Fight' and actually represents conflict between Protestants and Catholics. Oh well, I was close!
There was also a beautiful film being shown in the Church. 'This visually seductive and moving piece features a singer in the guise of Lord Nelson’s estranged wife Frances Nisbet, performing Violetta’s poignant death aria of the same name from Giuseppe Verdi’s 19th century opera La Traviata'. Its really very beautiful- certainly worth a watch if you are visiting the rest of the exhibition.
I liked everything of Yinka's that was on display. I loved how different it was. The attention to detail was beautiful, as was the color patterned fabric used throughout. I like how he was tackling the common issues of the day (of any 'day' really)- political strife and upheaval, war, racism, global warming and food shortages, the rich being rich and wasteful etc but in such a unique and engaging way. His work seems whimsical, but also slightly unnerving. Its almost like the works are alive and watching you back with judging, aloof eyes. They are reflecting back at you the uncomfortable truths of human nature and society, but this is confusing- because they are colorful and bright and often look like children's play things.
There's also a sculpture of his in the gardens above the Underground gallery which is supposed to look transient and moved/ shaped by the wind. I think it captures that billowing, free flowing movement of fabric in wind very well, a wonderful large scale sculpture designed for the public domain.
Sorry there's not more pictures, the gallery attendants wouldn't let anyone take any photos- I had to be very covert to get these 2 (no restriction on photographing the outdoor sculpture though).
All in all, I highly recommend the Yinka Shonibare exhibition. It really is fascinating and there's plenty to see.
Also on at YSP now is new outdoor sculptures from Josephsohn, 'Seizure' by Roger Hiorns and work by Anna Collette Hunt. I can't wait to get back there and check out all 3.
For more information, you can visit the following websites-
http://www.ysp.co.uk/home
http://www.yinkashonibarembe.com
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