The Scramble for Africa

Yinka Shonibare

Art Sophisticate from Indonesia to Africa.

I was thinking of how African art, has evolved...or not.
well I guess it depends on where you are looking. At the Venice Biennale only the most "sophisticated" artists get invited. The craftsman who reproduces "art" for tourist commercial art, or colonial or tourist art has no place. I was delving into this subject trying to define my space. For a while it seemed as if thats all I saw. I was trying to understand why it seemed so post colonial, from gallery watatu, to African colours. I came to the conclusion that it was nolstagia driven. Don't get me wrong I came accross some phenomenal pieces like the Zimbabwean sculptures, saw quite a few of them at the airport in Atlanta Rodin step aside. They are massive and very expressive, not as predictable as the thinker. I like the thinker but what really blows me away about it is its massive larger than life size, Cest tout.

Back to the the Biennale my most favourite artist Yinka Shonibare, all his art is closely related to fashion. His statues wear the so called African fabric which is from Indonesia. The fabric got assimilated into the west African market and become the so called African batik, the Europeans come, with it from the Netherlands where its mass produced. Ever wonder why the batiks from Indonesia look so African?