Yinka Shonibare, William Morris Gallery

The William Morris Gallery, London presents the outcome of their first major commission, a photographic exhibition by Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare MBE.

Yinka Shonibare photography and William Morris

British Nigerian artist Shonibare makes for a fascinating, if unexpected counterpart to the Victorian poet and social activist William Morris. Yinka Shonibare’s art has always interrogated the global textile trade and its links with imperialism; and as Britain’s most famous textile designer, Morris offers a natural subject choice.

William Morris Gallery exhibition

For this commission Shonibare has recreated a number of photographs inspired by Morris’s private family albums, refashioning the sitters’ demure Victorian attire with colourful batik dyed fabrics. Keen to integrate the wider social context of Waltham Forest, Shonibare invited local families to help re-stage the photographs.

This photography exhibition in London is a celebration of the rich history of textiles and exhibition will delight lovers of both the nineteenth century and contemporary art. As Shonibare muses, “the photographs are a celebration of costumes, textiles and diversity in the Morris world from a 21st century perspective.”