Open Arts Object: Yinka Shonibare, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, 2010
In this film, Dr Clare Taylor looks at a work made by a living artist who works in London, Yinka Shonibare. The subject, materials and sites she talks about all encourage viewers to think of their own individual, national and global identity in new ways. The work also turns on its head traditional ideas of a sculpture on a plinth, which often commemorate a person well known in their own time, and reverses ideas about what such a work should be made out of, using a range of materials rather than stone or metal. Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle is made from sustainably sourced wood, other hardwoods, brass, textiles, acrylic (PMMA), LED lighting and ventilation system, and measures 300 x 535 x 250 cm.
This film is featured in NEC's online A-level History of Art curriculum.
Related resources:
This film is also available on our youtube channel
Related links:
A344 Art and its Global Histories Open University undergraduate module
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