The Art of a Yoruba Trickster

At his mid-career retrospective at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, the London-born, Lagos-raised Yinka Shonibare MBE plays both sides of the colonial coin.

1 of 14

19th Century Kid (Queen Victoria)

Fiberglass figure, Dutch wax printed cotton, wooden table

National Museum of African Art, Museum Purchase with funds given in memory of Philip L. Ravenhill, the Silvia H. Williams Memorial Fund for Acquisitions, Frieda B. Rosenthal, Barbara Croissant and Mark E. Baker

NATALIE HOPKINSON: How the Empire Strikes Black
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Black Gold I

Acrylic paint on wall, acrylic on 25 Dutch wax printed cotton canvases

National Museum of African Art, Museum Purchase, 2008-2-1
3 of 14

Diary of a Victorian Dandy

Chromogenic photographs Edition 3 of 3

Collections of Peter Norton and Eileen Harris Norton, Santa Monica, California
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Double Dutch

Acrylic paint on wall, emulsion, and acrylic on 50 Dutch wax printed cotton canvases

Private collection, USA
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Globe Children

2 fiberglass mannequins, Dutch wax printed cotton, globe

Private collection, Connecticut
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The Victorian Philanthropist’s Parlour

Reproduction furniture, fire screen, carpet, props, stanchions, Dutch wax printed cotton

Collections of Peter Norton and Eileen Harris Norton, Santa Monica, California
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Scramble for Africa

14 life-size fiberglass mannequins, 14 chairs, table, Dutch wax printed cotton

The Pinnell Collection, Dallas
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The Age of Enlightenment

Life-size fiberglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton, mixed media

Collection of Lidia Berlingieri Leopardi and Piervittorio Leopardi Dittajuti, Rome
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The Age of Enlightenment -- Adam Smith

Life-size fiberglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton, mixed media
10 of 14

The Swing (After Fragonard)

Life-size fiberglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, swing, artificial foliage

Tate, Purchased 2001
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Odile and Odette

High-definition digital video (color, sound, 14 min. 28 sec.)

Edition 1 of 6

Courtesy of the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, and James Cohan Gallery, New York
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Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball)

High-definition digital video (color, sound, 32 min.)

Edition 1 of 6

Courtesy of the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, and James Cohan Gallery, New York
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Headless Man Trying to Drink

Fiberglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton, polymer-gypsum fountain, water pump

Collection of Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, USA
14 of 14

Yinka in Top Hat

11 black-and-white photographs, 1 chromogenic photograph

Edition 4 of 5

Collection of Emily Fisher Landau, New York

YINKA SHONIBARE: A Mid-Career Retrospective at the Smithsonian Museum