Yinka Shonibare was born in London in 1962 and at the age of three moved with his family to Lagos, where he grew up. He returned to London to study fine art, and aged 18 contracted transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord, which paralysed one side of his body. Shonibare’s painting, sculpture, photography and film explores themes of cultural identity and colonialism, and often incorporates vivid African batik fabric. His 2002 installation Gallantry and Criminal Conversation (2002), composed of mannequins and a suspended carriage, won him international acclaim. In 2004 he was shortlisted for the Turner prize and was awarded an MBE. ‘...and the wall fell away’, Shonibare’s sixth solo exhibition at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London W1, opens 28 September.
1 | Garden
Hauser and Wirth, Somerset, by Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf is a Dutch landscape designer famous for the perennials he plants. What I like about this garden is the way he just gives nature space to do its thing, so it’s sort of organised chaos. He uses quite fragrant plants, like lavender, and lots of really lovely different types of grass. He has also done a garden in the Olympic Park, near where I live, and the High Line in New York, which I go to whenever I visit my gallery there. He also did a garden for the Serpentine Gallery, which I visit a lot, so that’s how I got to know about his work. He has a close proximity to art and artists.
2 | View
Canary Wharf on the Thames Clipper
My favourite way to admire architecture in London is along the river. Along the way you take in all the sounds and also Tate Modern, the Globe theatre, the Shard, the Gherkin, the Walkie Talkie. I love to do this at night because Tower Bridge at night is just incredible. I always use the Clipper to get to the South Bank because it’s so nice – especially in the summer – and Canary Wharf is only 10 minutes from my house. So I go and eat or go to the theatre, listen to music or whatever is on over there. Then coming back at night that way is just really great – a million times better than the tube.
3 | Photography
Photo London at Somerset House
This is a photo fair that launched about three years ago at Somerset House, and it’s one of my favourite things to visit. It’s a variety of approaches to photography, from photojournalism to contemporary art photography to fashion: you have photos by Don McCullin, Craigie Horsfield, Walter and Zoniel. This year Wolfgang Tillmans had a series of pro-EU campaign posters, but obviously that didn’t work. The exhibition just goes on and on, maybe 50 rooms or something. Online I think they have a 3D thing where you can actually walk through the show.
4 | Documentary
This is one of my favourites: it’s a mixture of dance, theatre and documentary made about choreographer Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders. It’s absolutely fantastic: there are dancers performing in the street, in soil, in water, some of the really memorable ones are done outside. It’s a very moving film. I like artists who push the boundaries of their work and go beyond a strict category, and that’s what I think Pina Bausch did well, in terms of the way she uses human emotion in the work, and also movement and the kinds of dancers. They’re not one type – you’ve got young people, old people, different types of bodies – all of that appeals to me.
5 | Art
Etel Adnan: The Weight of the World, Serpentine Gallery
This was a beautiful exhibition of very small abstract paintings by Etel Adnan. She’s a poet, painter and essayist who was born in Lebanon, studied philosophy in Paris and lives in California. She’s a rare artist who can combine being a very good poet and a very good painter. She produces colourful abstract paintings based on landscapes, while her writing references a lot of politics and violence in the world, making sense of things like the Vietnam war. She produces exquisite tapestries as well. I admire the fact that she is also a senior artist [she is 91], because we are in this cult of youth. It’s good to see her being celebrated at the Serpentine, which usually shows hip young things. She was also there for the opening, which was great.
6 | Film
Timbuktu (dir Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014)
This is a film that I think is absolutely fantastic. It’s about the invasion of the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali by Islamic militants. Sissako takes us through the oppression of the people, but the film is primarily about the destruction of culture, the banning of music, the destruction of African masks and ritual objects and the banning of football and rap music. Then he looks deeply into the individual characters. It’s beautifully shot, with incredible deserts, dunes and landscapes, and the pace is very slow. It’s a film about anger and violence, but also the nice side of humanity, and the fact that the actual militants are also victims of this system they are having to operate under.
7 | Book
Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro‑American Art and Philosophy (Robert Farris Thompson, 1983)
This is what I’m reading right now. It explores the transformation of ancient African cultures within the diaspora and the west. It traces a lot of the cultures of people in the US, Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad, Mexico, Brazil, back to five African civilisations: Yoruba, Kongo, Ejagham, Mandé and Cross River. It’s absolutely fascinating that in Brazil the ex-slaves, after hundreds of years, managed to keep the names of their Yoruba gods and deities, and they worship those now. So the book is really an education about explaining the origins of those gods and their significance culturally. I’m learning a lot about my own heritage by reading this book, and also trying to understand how people come to terms with the loss of cultural memory and how resilient the human psyche is to preserve their dignity by retaining aspects of their culture after hundreds of years.
