Yinka Shonibare at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Some friends on the West Coast asked used to do a quick write-up on a new art exhibit that’s generating a lot of buzz over at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. One look at the gallery and we couldn’t say no!

Running from now until June 21, 2009 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) is the unusual, enticing and all-around thought-provoking Yinka Shonibare, MBE: A Flying Machine for Every Man, Woman and Child and Other Astonishing Works. Combining not-so-authentic African fabrics, modern commentary and fantastic, yet historically-based imagery, this new gallery represents the celebrated London artist at his most whimsical.

Yinka Shonibare, awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2005, is a renowned contemporary painter, photographer and filmmaker, but he is best known for his scene-stealing sculpture installations. Born in England and raised in Nigeria, Shonibare’s works often present his unique bicultural perspective and challenge concepts such as race, class and, in fact, the existence of culture at all.

His trademark is the use of headless mannequins dressed in highly-tailored African fabrics; however even in his fabric choice he challenges the expectations of the viewer. The boldly-colored fabric, so readily identified with sub-Saharan Africa, is actually produced in England and exported to Africa and much of the rest of the world. By playing with the assumptions of his audience, Shonibare adds a quiet significance to even the loudest pieces.

A Flying Machine for Every Man, Woman and Child, a 2008 piece and his West Coast debut, is certainly one of his most immediate works, consisting of four mannequins wearing Victorian dress and riding arcane flying machines modeled after 19^th-century blueprints. This central piece is accompanied by several more of Shonibare’s works, including a 32-minute film.

Now a month into exhibition, A Flying Machine has made an impact. Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times said of the installation, “It’s a fanciful depiction of a romantic ideal of individually powered freedom. And it looks absurd, like Mary Poppins on acid.” See the full article here.

Yinka Shonibare, MBE: A Flying Machine for Every Man, Woman and Child and Other Astonishing Works will continue to exhibit daily (closed on Mondays) until June 21, 2009 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Regular adult admission in $9, free on Sundays. Learn more about the museum and this wonderful exhibit here.

We were happy to see that the Holiday Inn Santa Barbara Hotel – Goleta is not only sponsoring the exhibition, but is offering a package with two-for-one admission to the exhibit.

View this and all of their Santa Barbara hotel deals.

Have a great time at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Photo by Yinka Shonibare, “A Flying Machine for Every Man, Woman and Child”, 2008.

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