planets in my head {young geologist}

Planets in my head, Young Geologist, 2019

Yinka Shonibare

The origins of these fabrics were introduced to West Africa by Dutch merchants in the 1880s. The fabrics grew in popularity, and over time Africans took ownership of the fabrics, integrating them into their cultures. By using these, Shonibare is leaving this chapter of global history and underlining the hole in the West in shaping popular myths of cultural identity internationally. What are now commonly known as ‘African fabrics’ are, in fact, European.

In Planets in my Head, Young Geologist, Shonibare is addressing the current global anxiety about the health of the planet. The figure is looking through a theodolite, a surveying instrument used to measure horizontal and vertical angles. The sculpture is re-imagining accepted bodies of knowledge to create a new globalised perspective.