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Hereford Cathedral and Meadow Arts will welcome internationally acclaimed artist Yinka Shonibare to Hereford on Thursday 24 January as he opens his latest exhibition, Creatures of the Mappa Mundi.
Yinka Shonibare, who has recently been awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honour’s List, was a Turner prize nominee in 2004 and created ‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle’ for the Fourth plinth at Trafalgar square in 2010 amongst many other notable commissions.
Shonibare will give a talk in the cathedral nave on Thursday 24 January to launch his new artwork, Creatures of the Mappa Mundi which has been commissioned by Meadow Arts. Interviewed by broadcaster and writer Francine Stock, he will discuss the inspiration for this new commission for Meadow Arts which has been inspired by one of Hereford Cathedral’s treasures, the Mappa Mundi.
Inspired by the ‘strange creatures and alien races’ of the famous Medieval world map, the quilt artworks have been made with diverse groups of Herefordshire people including groups from the Courtyard Hereford’s Creative Ageing project; Diploma in Art & Design students from Hereford College of Arts; Rose Tinted Rags and charity for disabled people, Echo; young people from SHYPP (Supported Housing for Young People Project) and Hereford River Carnival.
Creatures of the Mappa Mundi: A talk by artist Yinka Shonibare MBE (RA) interviewed by Francine Stock will take place on Thursday 24 January at 7.45pm. Tickets cost £10, concessions £7.50, and are on sale via the Cathedral Shop (in person, online and by phone on 01432 374210). Please note that concessionary tickets cannot be purchased online and online tickets incur a charge of £1.50 per ticket.
Creatures of the Mappa Mundi will be on display in the Mappa Mundi & Chained Library Exhibition from Thursday 24 January – Saturday 1 June, normal admission charges apply.
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Yinka Shonibare MBE was born in 1962 in London and moved to Lagos, Nigeria at the age of three. He returned to London to study Fine Art, first at Byam School of Art (now Central Saint Martins College) and then at Goldsmiths College, where he received his MFA.
Shonibare’s work explores issues of race and class through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and film. Shonibare questions the meaning of cultural and national definitions. His trademark material is the brightly coloured ‘African’ batik fabric he buys in London. This type of fabric was inspired by Indonesian design, mass-produced by the Dutch and eventually sold to the colonies in West Africa. In the 1960s the material became a new sign of African identity and independence.
Shonibare was a Turner prize nominee in 2004, and was also awarded the decoration of Member of the ‘Most Excellent Order of the British Empire’ or MBE, a title he has added to his professional name. Shonibare’s notable commissions include ‘Gallantry and Criminal Conversation’ at Documenta 11, Kassel, in 2002; Venice Biennale; ‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle’for the Fourth plinth at Trafalgar square in 2010; ‘Globe Head Ballerina’ for the Royal Opera House, 2012. Solo exhibituons include the MCA Sydney; Brooklyn Museum, New York and the Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. He was elected as a Royal Academician by the Royal Academy, London in 2013.
Meadow Arts
Meadow Arts brings unique art projects to audiences in places with limited access to contemporary art, supporting artists by commissioning new work and creating inspiring events and exhibitions.
The organisation works with a variety of host locations, usually highly regarded heritage buildings, historic landscapes or public spaces. Meadow Arts’ work creates new audiences for the arts by bringing high quality art to areas where few other opportunities exist, accompanied by vibrant education and engagement programmes.
Meadow Arts is a registered charity and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. It is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and receives funding from other Trusts and Foundations, including The Elmley Foundation. Meadow Arts’ public commissions programme, Meadow Projects, is currently exhibiting a range of artworks in public spaces in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
www.meadowarts.org
Twitter, Facebook & Instagram: @meadowarts
5 College Cloisters
Cathedral Close
Hereford
HR1 2NG
