Yinka Shonibare

Quick Facts

Full Name	Yinka Shonibare
Occupation	Conceptual Artist
Date Of Birth	Aug 9, 1962(1962-08-09)
Age	62
Birthplace	London
Country	United Kingdom
Birth City	England
Horoscope	Leo

Yinka Shonibare Biography

Yinka Shonibare is one of the most popular and richest Conceptual Artist who was born on August 9, 1962 in London, England, United Kingdom. British-Nigerian artist, whose work reflects contemporary globalization. His paralysis means that half of his body cannot move, and he must rely on assistants to help him create his works.

In 1997, he had two Victorian-style dresses in his personal collection at He had two Victorian style dresses in the personal collection of Charles Saatchi in 1997..

Yinka Shonibare CBE, RA (born 1962) is a British-Nigerian artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post- colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is the brightly coloured Dutch wax fabric he uses. Because he has a physical disability that paralyses one side of his body, Shonibare uses assistants to make works under his direction.

A key material in Shonibare’s work since 1994 is the brightly coloured “African” fabric (Dutch wax-printed cotton) that he buys himself from Brixton market in London. “But actually, the fabrics are not really authentically African the way people think,” says Shonibare. “They prove to have a crossbred cultural background quite of their own. And it’s the fallacy of that signification that I like. It’s the way I view culture – it’s an artificial construct.” Shonibare claims that the fabrics were first manufactured in Europe to sell in Indonesian markets and then they were sold in Africa, when they were rejected in Indonesia. Today the main exporters of “African” fabric from Europe are based in Manchester in the UK and Vlisco Véritable Hollandais from Helmond in the Netherlands. He has these fabrics made up into European 18th-century dresses, covering sculptures of alien figures or stretched onto canvases and thickly painted over.

When he was just three years old, he moved to Nigeria with his family. He returned to England at age 17. Kayode Shonibare Lewis, his son, is an indie game developer.

Yinka Shonibare Net Worth

Yinka Shonibare is one of the richest Conceptual Artist from United Kingdom. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Yinka Shonibare 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

At the age of 18, he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which caused paralysis to half his body. After graduating from Byam Shaw School of Art (later Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design), he attended Goldsmiths University of London for his Master of Fine Art.

He was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2004 for his Double Dutch exhibit and was awarded an MBE in 2004. In 2014, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Royal Academy of Arts and in 2013 he was elected Royal Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Yinka Shonibare was born in London in 1962. When he was three years old, his family moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where his father practised law. At 17, he returned to Britain to do his A-levels at Redrice School. Shonibare contracted transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord, at the age of 18, which resulted in a long-term physical disability where one side of his body is paralysed. He then studied Fine Art first at Byam Shaw School of Art (now Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design) and then at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he received his MFA, graduating as part of the Young British Artists generation. Following his studies, Shonibare worked as an arts development officer for Shape Arts, an organisation which makes arts accessible to people with disabilities.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Yinka Shonibare height Not available right now. Yinka weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Yinka Shonibare Dating?

According to our records, Yinka Shonibare is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Yinka Shonibare’s is not dating anyone.

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In 2004, he was shortlisted for the Turner Prize for his Double Dutch exhibition at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam and for his solo show at the Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Of the four nominees, he seemed to be the most popular with the general public that year. A BBC website poll, resulted in 64% of voters stating that his work was their favourite.

Facts & Trivia

Yinka Ranked on the list of most popular Conceptual Artist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United Kingdom. Yinka Shonibare celebrates birthday on August 9 of every year.

Considerably larger than a usual ship in a bottle, yet much smaller than the real HMS Victory, in fact a 1:30-scale model, Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, was “the first commission on the Fourth Plinth to reflect specifically on the historical symbolism of Trafalgar Square, which commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, and will link directly with Nelson’s column.” The work was placed there on 24 May 2010 and remained until 30 January 2012. Being widely admired, in 2011 the Art Fund launched a campaign and successfully raised money for the purchase and relocation of the sculpture to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich where it now found its new permanent home.

What is Yinka Shonibare famous for?

Yinka Shonibare, (born February 10, 1962, London, England), British artist of Nigerian heritage known for his examination of such ideas as authenticity, identity, colonialism, and power relations in often-ironic drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, and installations.

What is Yinka Shonibare inspired by?

Inspired by Indonesian batiks and produced in Europe for the West African market in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it has come to symbolize for Shonibare the complex web of economic and racial interactions–and interdependencies–between Europe, Asia and Africa.

How does Yinka Shonibare create his work?

Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist who plays with his hybrid identity in the art he produces. His layered cultural identity is shaped by the globalized society in which he creates his works and comments on the intricacies of his backgrounds through works like ‘The Swing’.

Where is Yinka Shonibare MBE from?

London, United Kingdom

What does the name Yinka mean?

Yinka is a unisex name in the Yoruba language. It is a contraction of “Yimika” meaning “ surround me.” It is also a diminutive form of names such as Adeyinka (crown/royalty surrounds me), Olayinka (wealth surrounds me), Akinyinka (warriors/valour surrounds me), Oluyinka (God/my lord surrounds me), etc.