Two exhibitions
dal 13/2/2005 al 14/3/2005
Segnalato da
13/2/2005
Two exhibitions
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
In Our Time. Works from the Moderna Museet Collection. This new presentation, which is organised into three chronological sections, is firmly rooted in the 20th century. Yinka Shonibare presents two new works: Vasa in a bottle and Warm wall and Cool wall. Shonibare's work reminds us of how Sweden relates to the world, and how the world relates to Sweden
In Our Time. Works from the Moderna Museet Collection - Yinka Shonibare. Vasa in a bottle, Warm wall and Cool wall
In Our Time. Works from the Moderna Museet Collection
The Moderna Museet Collection is one of the foremost in Europe. This new presentation, which is organised into three chronological sections, demonstrates the breadth of the Collection, which is firmly rooted in the 20th century. Zarina Bhimji and Tunga are two very recent acquisitions, but of course the presentation also includes famous works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Robert Rauschenberg´s Monogram (The Goat). Rent an audioguide and enjoy the Collection at your own pace.
The Moderna Museet Collection. Moderna Museet has one of Europe´s finest collections of 20th century art. Classic works include Pablo Picasso´s The Spring, Robert Rauschenberg´s Monogram and Lena Cronquist´s Madonna. Now and then the walls are rearranged and rehung with familiar or surprising new works from the museum warehouse.
The collection is organised into three periods:
- Modern Times 1900-1939
- The Future 1940-1969
- Now 1970-
Museum Director: Lars Nittve
Curators: Annika Gunnarsson, Iris Müller-Westermann, Magnus af Petersens, Anna Tellgren and
Cecilia Widenheim
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Yinka Shonibare
Vasa in a bottle, Warm wall and Cool wall. The Anglo- Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare has created two works for Moderna Museet´s entrances. These will be replaced in approximately three years by a new site-specific work of an other artist.
In connection with the museum's refurbishment, British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare has been invited to design a work, an artistic environment, for the two new Moderna Museet entrances. It is a pleasure to announce that one of the world's currently most highly acclaimed artists has now created a remarkable work for the museum as a commentary on the museum's dual identity in relation to Sweden, Stockholm and the world.
With Vasa in a Bottle Shonibare ties together historical and global threads traversing oceans and continents, and which - in a broader sense - mean that people all over the world share a common history. To Swedes, the Vasa man-of-war is emblematic of a historical period, a national monument and a fiasco rolled into one. The Vasa is the oldest existing ship from the 17th century, a century famous for its merchant navies sailing the seven seas, colonialism and slave trade. Yinka Shonibare's work reminds us of how Sweden relates to the world, and how the world relates to Sweden.
The other part of the new work consists of textile-covered wall sections, titled Warm Textile Wall and Cool Textile Wall. Abstract folklore patterns printed on richly-coloured cotton fabric. "Traditional African batik" is our immediate reaction, but we are mistaken. Historically, the fabric and prints stem from Indonesia, the origin of batik, and travelled from there, via colonisation, to Holland and then on to England, where the fabric was mass-produced and exported to Africa. The textiles were then shipped back to Europe as "African".
It is an astounding and surprising voyage that Yinka Shonibare (b. 1962) takes us on. Starting in the associations aroused by the fabric, he dresses (and strips bare) western culture. Visitors encounter creatures from outer space, haute couture outfits and life-size dolls in obscene postures dressed in 18th century crinolines. The result is both death-defying and hilarious. But the political edge is razor-sharp.
Suddenly, familiar and natural occurrences are revealed in a new light, forcing us to question what we regard as natural when it comes to ethnicity, the colonial powers and, ultimately, the strange meanderings of global trade. The tacit cultural codes of the rich world suddenly appear more clearly. The hidden seams are made visible.
Yinka Shonibare was born in London in 1962 and grew up in Nigeria and Britain. He has had numerous exhibitions, especially in London, where he has also designed site-specific works for the London Underground. At Documenta in Kassel (2002) he presented an installation that attracted huge interest. He lives and works in London and is the first artist invited to create the artistic "signature" for a three-year period in the Moderna Museet entrances.
Image: Yinka Shonibare, Warm Wall, 2004
Moderna Museet - Island of Skeppsholmen - Stockholm