Accompanying Yinka Shonibare CBE (RA)’s exhibition Suspended States at the Serpentine, the publication focuses on new works that explore contemporary systems of power as legacies of imperialism and colonialisation.
The publication’s cover features black serif typography printed onto charcoal paper. An aperture reveals the vivid colours of an equestrian statue of Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, which is part of Shonibare’s series of works that question the role and presence of public monuments to colonial figures.
The book explores three major installations by Shonibare, each featuring the artist’s signature use of Dutch wax print and divided by introductory pages with the same black-on-charcoal effect as the cover. The final section on Shonibare’s social practice and Guest Artist Space in Nigeria marks a shift in tone, with vivid orange paper and text set in a contemporary sans serif typeface.
