Do like minds think alike?

Over the past ten years Yinka Shonibare, an artist of Nigerian origin working in Britain, has achieved a very considerable measure of international success.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people

Yinka Shonibare is Yoruba, but it does not follow that he is to be classified as a Yoruba artist; conversely, the fact that he is Yoruba and Nigerian does not make him any the less British. Shonibare considers himself ‘truly bi-cultural’ and strives to open up debate about the social, cultural and political issues that shape our histories and construct identity. His works challenge assumptions about representation by playfully blurring the boundaries between stereotypically Western ideas about ‘high’ art and traditional categorisations of ‘African art’. My argument here is that the attribution of ethnicity to works of art is inherently problematic.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/jan/27/portrait-artist-yinka-shonibare
Shonibare's work tricks the mind, by first making it comfortable with its own contradiction, innocence, and ignorance, and then by quickly deflating those sentiments. His work registers the invalidity of borders. He subverts notions of traditionalism through parody.

Scramble For Africa 2003

Shonibare draws upon the moment in nineteenth-century expansionism when leading world powers carved up the continent of Africa at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85. Various statesmen, typically headless, are huddled around a table using a large map of Africa to stake their claims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramble_for_Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Conference

Batik - a technique for decorating fabric with wax-resist and dye -was developed in Indonesia in the 17th century. Dutch colonizers of Indonesia appropriated batik designs for industrial production. The British, in turn, exported the fabric from factories in Manchester to West Africa, an area largely controlled by colonial powers until the 20th century. It came to be called "Dutch" wax. The fabric grew to be so popular in Africa that by the 1960s the material was popularly assimilated in Africa and became symbolic of African identity and independence.

Dysfunctional Family 2003

Shonibare uses batik-patterned fabric to cover four stuffed mannequins that look like the generic space aliens that often appear in films. At first glance, they all look strange to us. Then we begin to perceive the difference among the aliens--there is an easily identifiable parent and child in each fabric. Shonibare uses "aliens" consciously because of the term's association with immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Employing such fantastic and humorous figures to deal with heavy issues like racism and prejudice is one way he communicates the often cartoonlike way people represent cultures other than their own. Shonibare uses batik fabric for this "alien family" because the story of this type of fabric is interesting to him. It is a symbol of African national identity, but how it became so is complex.

Shonibare said of his use of the wax batik fabrics;

"It's the fallacy of that signification that I like. It's the way I view culture--it's an artificial construct"Yinka Shonibare was chosen, ahead of a number of leading artists, to install his work Nelson's Ship in a Bottle on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth.

http://www.vlisco.com/home
http://www.vlisco.com/AboutGeneralInformation.html?Id=40

What is the Fourth Plinth?
The Fourth Plinth is in the north-west of Trafalgar Square, in central London. Built in 1841, it was originally intended for an equestrian statue but was empty for many years. It is now the location for specially commissioned art works.

The Fourth Plinth Programme is funded by the Mayor of London and The Arts Council England and sees new works being selected for the vacant plinth in a rolling programme of new commissions.

‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (composite image of maquette in situ)’ - Yinka Shonibare, MBE, 2007
Plastic, dutch wax printed cotton textile, cork, acrylic and glass bottle,

Yinka Shonibare will make a scale replica of Nelson's ship, HMS Victory, in a giant glass bottle. The ship's magnificent sails will be produced from richly patterned and coloured Dutch wax fabric. Shonibare says his piece will reflect the story of multi-culturism in London today, which begins as a result of Nelson's victory at the battle of Trafalgar.

"For me it's the celebration of London's immense ethnic wealth, giving expression to and honouring the many cultures and ethnicities that are still breathing precious wind into the sails of the UK"

http://www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth/plinth/shonibare.jsp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jun/29/art
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-and-architecture/features/yinka-shonibare-the-battle-of-trafalgar-853268.html