Yinka Shonibare MBE, grown between London and Lagos, explores cultural identity through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and film. His work, which questions the meaning of identity, history and race within the context of postcolonialism, is based on the use of wax textiles as a signifier of authenticity. This type of fabric was inspired by Indonesian design, mass-produced by the Dutch, and eventually sold to the colonies in West Africa. In the 1960s the material became a new sign of African identity and independence. Shonibare uses these colourful fabrics to create thought-provoking metaphors which really strike the eye of the viewer. He succeeds in telling a complicated social issue in an aesthetic way which makes it more affordable and digestible to anybody.

–  Rica Cerbarano