Abstract Bronze VIII, 2026

Abstract Bronze VIII is from an ongoing series of abstract sculptures made from industrial materials including bronze and aluminium. The abstract works mimic fabric blowing in the wind, the forms determined by nature itself. They create a striking juxtaposition; the heaviness of metal rendered as something weightless and flowing. The surfaces are painted with Dutch wax patterns, referencing the complex trading history between Africa and Europe. Though associated with African identity today, these batik textiles originated in Indonesia. In the mid-nineteenth century, Dutch companies such as Vlisco massproduced them, and when they failed to sell in Indonesia, they found a market in West Africa. By the 1960s, following independence, West African nations had fully embraced the fabrics as their own. Shonibare draws on this layered history as a starting point to interrogate ideas of cultural ownership, globalisation, and belonging. Through material and form, Shonibare invites us to reconsider what we take to be authentic or fixed, suggesting identity and culture as something always in motion.