exhibition review

Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle Fourth Plinth Commission, , May 24, 2010–January 31, 2012 , permanent display from April 25, 2012

reviewed by Elsbeth Joyce Court

Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle , MBE b. 1962, London

Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle is a sculpture of Nelson’s fl agship HMS Victory. Th e sculpture considers the relationship between the birth of the British Empire, 1 May 24, 2010, Trafalgar Square in made possible in part by Nelson’s victory at the Battle behalf of the National Maritime Museum to front of the : launch of Trafalgar, and multiculturalism in Britain today. acquire Nelson’s Ship to mark its 75th anniver- day for Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (2009), winner of the Fourth Plinth Commission, For me it’s a celebration of London’s immense sary (Fig. 1). In 2012, the Fund’s annual poll the ’s most prestigious ethnic wealth, giving expression to and honoring the ranked the work the third most popular aft er sculpture award. many cultures and ethnicities that are still breathing ’s beautiful frieze Tree of Fiberglass, steel, resin, printed textile, precious wind into the sails of the United Kingdom. Life (2012) on the façade of the Whitechapel linen rigging, acrylic, wood; 290 cm x 525 cm x 233 cm Yinka Shonibare, MBE Art Gallery and the Titian masterpiece Diana Photo: James O’Jenkins. © Yinka and Callisto (1556–1559). Such recognition Shonibare MBE. Courtesy the artist, Th e sculpture is 3.2 metres high and 5 metres long heightened the stellar position that the art- Stephen Friedman Gallery (London) and weighs 4 tons. ist has maintained throughout his remarkable and James Cohan Gallery (New career (Court 1993). Shonibare himself terms York) [Patrons] Fourth Plinth, Mayor of London, Lottery his Fourth Plinth experience to be a “game Funded Arts Council, Th e Henry Moore Foundation, changer,”1 which was also observed by theo- Guaranty Trust Bank [] rist and Serpentine Gallery co-director Hans Ulrich Obrist: “Th e experience of Trafalgar the hitherto empty plinth in this grand square Th is text panel on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Square changed something profoundly for that felt out-of-step with the tremendous Plinth denoted the May 20, 2010, unveiling of you” (2013a:17). Th at “something profound” is socioeconomic changes taking place in Lon- the contemporary monument Nelson’s Ship in a the crux of this review. don and beyond. Contingent developments Bottle and introduced what is widely regarded Trafalgar Square (Fig. 3) was constructed in the visual arts indicated that the notion as Yinka Shonibare MBE’s most signifi cant during the mid nineteenth century to celebrate of the heroic, masculine monument needed work to date (Figs. 1–2).1 On display for twenty Britain’s pivotal victory over the Franco-Span- renegotiation to fi t with the postcolonial era. months in London’s premier space for popular ish fl eet at Capo Trafalgar (“west cape,” from Accordingly, the RSA consulted widely and mass gatherings, cultural events, and political the Arabic tarf-al-ghar). Th e Square com- eventually agreed upon an audacious art rallies, the colossal of sailor’s art/replica prises a large, open area of stone terraces with project: a commission to create a temporary, of HMS Victory/Pop Art seaside souvenir/giant two large fountains and monumental sculp- postmodern monument. Th e author of Sculp- toy/patriotic or postcolonial icon was viewed by tures that surround its centerpiece: the tower- ture Now explains, “For each temporary cre- a million people a day. Th e range, intensity, and ing Nelson’s Column that commemorates the ation, the artists have to re-think the function persistence of responses indicate Nelson’s Ship is commander of the British fl eet who was killed of the monument in this historic square …” the most popular of the Fourth Plinth Commis- during the 1805 battle. Th e nation’s greatest (Moszynska 2013:203). Aft er years of negotia- sion’s awards. naval hero, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson was tion to “gain permission for contemporary Toward the end of work’s tenure, the Art also an unconventional man with physical dis- art to occupy the empty plinth,” the RSA’s art Fund, the national charity that assists muse- abilities like Yinka Shonibare MBE.2 specialists commissioned three sculptures that ums to purchase outstanding art, mounted In the 1990s, the were exhibited sequentially from 1999 through a high-profi le fund-raising campaign on (RSA) embraced the challenge presented by 2001 (Crimmin 2012).

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140315-001_76-96_CS6.indd 86 3/18/14 11:07 AM 2 The permanent installation of Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle outside the new Stephen Ofer Wing of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, April 25, 2012. The short plinth (2.8m) provides better viewing than in Trafalgar Square. Photo: David Westwood. © Yinka Shonibare MBE. Courtesy of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

3 Trafalgar Square, 2010, view toward the Houses of Parliament. Left rear is Nelson’s Col- umn topped with his portrait sculpture (height about 60 m); right are two of the Square’s four plinths. The closer and larger plinth (height 4.1 m) holds the Fourth Plinth Commission: Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle. Photo: © James O’Jenkins

On assuming responsibility for Trafalgar opinions during the maquette stage.4 Th e and organizational capacities to the hilt. He Square in 2001 (from the Crown), the Greater short list included Jeremy Deller, , utilized the services of his studio and those of London Authority undertook to redevelop the , and Yinka Shonibare. Th e MDM Props, who are specialists in realizing space to facilitate more extensive public use. two winning artists, Gormley and Shonibare, complex projects for theater and artists such as By 2005, the Mayor’s Offi ce had revamped refi ned their expressive concepts into practi- and . MDM Props the project into a biannual competition that cable plans. At that point it became clear that built the 1/30 replica of HMS Victory in wood is monitored by the Fourth Plinth Commis- the budget to produce Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle and then assembled its eighty guns, three sioning Group, composed of a variety of dis- would require additional funding, which was masts, and rigging with thirty-seven sails, of tinguished art people. Th e Group invites up found with the assistance of Shonibare’s long- which thirty were set as on the day of the deci- to thirty artists to devise a monument and standing gallerist Stephen Friedman. sive battle. Th e model fl oats on a plastic ocean then selects six fi nalists to write grant propos- While Vasa in a Bottle had provided Shoni- in its bespoke acrylic bottle that is placed on a als and to exhibit their maquettes. On receiv- bare with formal and symbolic stimuli, the wood platform housing its ventilation. ing his invitation, Shonibare recalls, “I wanted fabrication of Nelson’s Ship, an even larger, Shonibare focused on the preparation and my piece to be contextually specifi c for Tra- outdoor, public work, would test his artistic assembly of the model’s sails for both instru- falgar Square with Nelson’s Column and to do something relating to this imperial space.” He settled on a four ton parody of Nelson’s ship HMS Victory. “To have just put the ship on the plinth would have been boring, but in tak- ing this heroic object and converting it almost into a toy, in the sense that it’s disarmed, takes power away … It is no longer an instrument of colonial expansion” (2013a:17). In fact, Shonibare was manipulating two strands in his oeuvre: boys’ toys and model ships, particularly the intriguing convention of a ship-in-the-bottle. He discovered such a model/toy at the Moderna Museet, Stock- holm, while he was on a residency to make art in celebration of the Museet‘s refurbishment. His key work Vasa in a Bottle (2004)—the fi rst precedent for Nelson’s Ship—emerged from Shonibare’s historical study of the decadence of the Swedish monarchy, in which the epit- ome of royal excess was the commission of the largest-ever wooden warship Vasa (1626–28), which sank upon its launch due to its faulty design. With mild irony, Shonibare remarked that Vasa has its own heritage museum.3 During the 2007–08 round of commis- sions, the public was invited to voice their

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140315-001_76-96_CS6.indd 87 3/18/14 11:07 AM mental and essential reasons, cloth being his son’s Ship, the sail has blossomed into its own Nelson’s Ship in his oeuvre. Rich in links with primary metaphor for cultural hybridity (Fig. identity, as seen in the digital rendering of a his artistic trajectory and the embodiment of 5). He created fabric designs for the sails in moving textile in Trafalgar Square (Fig. 6) and his ethos—to promote change from within the style of his hallmark Dutch wax: a fl ame its realization into an exhilarating 6m outdoor society—Nelson’s Ship is Shonibare’s most self- and rust batik with a nautical pattern compris- work, Wind Sculpture II (Fig. 7). referential work. Surely, it is his mid-career ing anchors and gunfi re in reference to battle. Shonibare explains, “Th e wind introduces response to the title of his fi rst parody to use Th ese were printed on weatherproof cotton an element of the organic into the sculptures. mannequins, How Does a Girl Like You Get to cloth at the London Printworks Trust, notably … Each one is formulated by blowing wind Be a Girl Like You? depicting three women in where early in his career he devised his fi rst into actual fabrics and then photographing “Africanized” Victorian couture.6 She/they are tableau, Th e Victorian Philanthropists’ Parlour them, so in a way the shapes have been formed the positive human capital of Nelson’s victory; (1996–97). While mounting the sails, the art- by Nature. It is a simple process, mostly done they are neither slave ship chattel (a domi- ist became intrigued by shaping them to rep- with hairdryers!” (2013a:19). nant trope in black art) nor the enemy inside resent the abstraction of wind. Indeed, the Lastly, the “bottle” was corked and a Trojan Horse (a frequently used metaphor “Africanized” sails sharpen his primary meta- sealed with a large, wine-red circular shape, for the artist’s practice in the ‘00s). Shonibare phor to connote trade and mass immigration imprinted with the artist’s initials YSMBE.5 A has maneuvered/sailed his cultural hybridity in which the sail becomes a synecdoche for duplicate object hangs at the entrance to Shon- to the very top of the mainstream art world Nelson’s Ship. Similar to the maquette for Nel- ibare’s studio offi ce, indicating the primacy of through his artistic wit and intelligence, and in

4a–b Trafalgar Square, 2010; close-up of Nelson’s Ship in its acrylic bottle shows the fabrication of its three masts, unique textiles, complex rigging. Photo: © E.J. Court

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140315-001_76-96_CS6.indd 88 3/18/14 11:07 AM doing so, provided new visual imagery for the the deluded purposefulness of voyaging. Th e and in—Shonibare (ibid.). He spoke of this African imaginary, that is inclusive, positive emblem of heroic nautical triumph, Nelson’s change in terms of exponential increases in and poignant. Victory, is bottled up by Yinka Shonibare’s “confi dence,” his own in himself and of others From prestigious locations on plinths in piece on the Fourth Plinth … in its own par- in him. He specifi ed that the “mainstream’s big signifi cant spaces, Nelson’s Ship signals a revi- ticularly Britannic Toy Story forever separated players” have subsequently shown greater con- sion of colonial history, acknowledging the from its dauntless admiral atop his metropoli- fi dence in his capability to carry out signifi - contributions to Britain of migrants from its tan column”(2012:7–8). cant and complicated projects. Th ese positive former Empire, now the Commonwealth. Th is Th eorist Jean Fisher concludes her nuanced eff ects have expanded Shonibare’s sense of his message resounded positively with a large essay in YINKA SHONIBARE MBE FABRIC- agency, and he has reassessed his priorities to spectrum of viewers starting with the stake- ATION with this advice: increase his “art in public” projects and to re- holders. Peter Goodwin, and keeper of engage with Nigeria. the commissioned warship HMS Victory, com- It should be emphasized there is nothing judgemental Th e artist’s “game changer” has commenced. mented, “Th ere were twenty-two nationalities in Shonibare’s work. It deploys the seductive power of Firstly, the success of Nelson’s Ship immediately on the ship including Jamaican and Indian … aesthetic pleasure and humor to camoufl age what is in accelerated patronage for his outdoor, public Th e work encapsulates this as well as being eff ect a provocation to think otherwise, but the respon- works. Th e commissioned one of our greatest national icons” (Daily Mail sibility to take up this challenge is gently given over to Globe Head Ballerina (2012), which spins on 2010). Th e integrity of the work also impressed the viewer: one may follow his train of thought or rest the hour and is a metaphor for global arts (Fig. Jon Snow, a broadcaster and member of the with the sheer beauty of the work. It is the choice that art 6). Th e Yorkshire Sculpture Park commis- Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group. On the gives us (Fisher 2013a:136). sioned two Wind Sculptures for his 2013 mid- occasion of the work’s installation in Green- career survey of some thirty works, “YINKA wich, he exclaimed: “In one fell swoop this Th e vast admiration for Nelson’s Ship contin- SHONIBARE MBE FABRIC-ATION” (Fig 7). totemic sculpture brings together thoughts of ues to astonish Shonibare. Receiving e-greetings Th ese works have varied affi nities with Nelson’s empire, slavery, liberation, and the very fi bre from “everywhere,” he attempts to grasp the Ship, which can be seen in their images. of our maritime heritage, adding a hugely extent of the work’s global “reach.”7 In conversa- Th e second “game changer” is confront- multicultural dimension to the museum’s mes- tion with Hans Ulrich Obrist, he comments on ing the “Naija factor,” that particular brew of sage” (Art Fund News Release, 2012). how the work’s “reach” has aff ected him: negative conditions that interfere with Nige- Th e current commander of the HMSVic- ria’s development. A new, dynamic, can-do- tory noted the exactitude of the replica while I was surprised by the force of the public reaction. Th ere despite-the-system generation is stimulating many others responded to its conventional was a level of conversation with so many diff erent people Shonibare’s re-engagement with the Lagosian history lesson; for instance, Nelson’s closest on the street, which had never been part of my practice, art world he had left as a teenager. Still ger- descendent noted his victory was “why we and very unlike the audience I’m accustomed to in a mane is the concluding question to my 1993 aren’t all speaking French” (Evening Standard, gallery. I liked the idea of public art in the street. … I’m review when he received the Young Barclays May 20, 2010, p. 22). Th e Mayor stressed the interested in aesthetics and not public art, but art in pub- Award, “What might happen when he takes heroic role of Admiral Nelson by making a lic. … I am interested in people actually engaging with his kind of art to Nigeria? … Th is is a real pun about his “bottle,” referring to his courage. the aesthetics of the work or with the ideas of the work, and positive challenge” (Court 1993:81). Two Reporting tended to be more cultural than in the same way they do in a gallery (2013a:17). decades later, Shonibare’s practice has been artistic. Academics probed more deeply. In his viewed and acclaimed worldwide. His recent essay for the exhibition “Travelling Light,” his- Indeed, the experience of exhibiting in Tra- outdoor pieces have been funded partially by torian Simon Schama explains how a diff erent falgar Square, of producing Nelson’s Ship in a a Nigerian bank, yet in Nigeria his work has time/space continuum can shrink in an art- Bottle, and of assimilating its extraordinary not been in a public exhibition. In April 2011, ist’s vision “to the scale of toys, as if mocking reception has involved profound change for— Shonibare made an art visit to Nigeria orga-

5 Wind Sculpture in Trafalgar Square, 2012: a generated image of a textile “dancing” in the center of the Square, liberated out of the bottle and off the plinth. Photo: Ailbhe Murphy, © Yinka Shonibare MBE Studio

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140315-001_76-96_CS6.indd 89 3/18/14 11:07 AM 6 Globe Head Ballerina (2012) Acrylic globe, mannequin, wax print, globe head, rotor; 200 cm x 200 cm x 200 cm Royal Opera House façade, Russell St., ; commissioned by the Royal Opera House; on display 2012–2017. Photo: Mark Blower, © Yinka Shonibare MBE. Courtesy the artist, the Royal Op- era House (London) and Stephen Fried- man Gallery (London)

7 Wind Sculpture II (2013) Steel armature with hand painted fi berglass resin cast; 610 cm x 340 cm x 80 cm Yorkshire Sculpture Park One of two works commissioned for the exhi- bition “Yinka Shonibare MBE Fabric-Ation.” Photo: E.J. Court, © Yinka Shonibare MBE. Courtesy of the artist and York- shire Sculpture Park.

nized by the Centre for Contemporary Art, explains, “Th ere is a very specifi c reason why I have References cited chosen to keep the MBE with my name. … it is a sign Lagos, whose director Olabisi Silva is an old Chikukwa, Raphael, and Michele Robecchi. 2006. “Pro- … of multiculturalism today … a name which actually fi le Yinka Shonibare, MBE.” contemporary 88:32–37. friend from London. He was impressed by the sounds foreign to British people … followed by MBE. changes, especially in new kinds of art prac- … a paradox. … Th e Empire is over … but the legacy is Coulsen, Sarah, and Clare Lilley, eds. 2013. YINKA tices and levels of discourse. Nonetheless, he still there in terms of the imbalance of power … I don’t SHONIBARE MBE FABRIC-ATION. West Bretton, did not fi nd a gallery space where his kind feel I need to position myself in a subservient relation- Wakefi eld: Yorkshire Sculpture Park. ship to the Empire. By embracing it and accepting the of work could be exhibited to “white cube” Court, Elsbeth. 1993. “Yinka Shonibare, Barclay’s Young MBE, I reduce its power … I use it in a more theatrical standards (referring to both premises and Artist Award.” 26 (1):79–81. way now—it’s my artist name” (Chikukwa and Robecci infrastructure). He noted the corollary that 2006:35). Crimmin, Michaela. 2012. “One Th ing Leads to Another Nigerian artists do not have the opportunity 3 Yinka Shonibare MBE, personal communica- …” In Fourth Plinth: Contemporary Monument. Exhibi- in their country to show, view and learn about tion, May 16, 2004. For previous works that employ a tion brochure. London: Institute of Contemporary Art. art as they would overseas. His reaction was to model ship with Africanized sails—Vasa (2004), Wan- Fisher, Jean. 2013. “In Defi ance of Gravity.” In YINKA assess the “real and positive challenges.” With derer (2006), La Méduse (2008)—see Kent et al. 2008. SHONIBARE MBE FABRIC-ATION. ed. S. Coulsen and colleagues, he is analyzing the conditions for 4 Th e maquette Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (maquette C. Lilley; pp. 129–140. West Bretton, Wakefi eld: York- for the 4th Plinth proposal) 2007 and another version art and modes of intervention that can facili- shire Sculpture Park. 2009 have been exhibited in four public exhibitions, wider access to contemporary practice in inclusive of the initial Fourth Plinth Commission, Kent, Rachel, et al. 2008. Yinka Shonibare MBE. Nigeria. An outdoor work combined with an London (National Gallery 2007–2008), Fourth Plinth: Munich: Prestel. education program would be a fi ne start. Contemporary Monument. London: Institute of Con- Moszynska, Anna 2013. Sculpture Now. London: Th ames temporary Art, 2012–2013; Government Art Collection: & Hudson. Elsbeth Joyce Court specializes in contem- Travelling Light. Selected by Simon Schama. Whitecha- porary African art, especially for eastern Africa. pel Art Gallery, London, 2011–2012; YINKA SHONI- Obrist, Hans Ulrich 2013. “Hans Ulrich Obrist, in conversation with Yinka Shonibare MBE.” In YINKA She has known Shonibare MBE since they were BARE MBE FABRIC-ATION, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 2013, GL Strand, Copenhagen, 2013. SHONIBARE MBE FABRIC-ATION. ed. S. Coulsen and participants in seminars at the School of Orien- 5 Presto: Nelson’s bottle became a wine keg with C. Lilley, pp. 13–23. West Bretton, Wakefi eld: Yorkshire tal and African Studies, London, 1991–92, where reference to the return of the Admiral Nelson’s remains Sculpture Park. she has lectured since 1991. [email protected] in a keg of spirits (1805) and forward to the wine god Schama, Simon 2011. “Travelling Light.” In Government Bacchus who featured in YSMBE’s commercial exhibi- Art Collection: Travelling Light. London: Whitechapel Notes tion POP! (2013). Art Gallery. For information and advice, I wish to thank Rachel 6 How Does a Girl Like You Get to Be a Girl Like Assaf, Emily Lennox at Yinka Shonibare MBE studio, You? (1995) was commissioned for “Th e Art of African Websites Ellie Charman, James Green at Stephen Friedman Gal- Textiles: Technology, Tradition and Lurex,” Barbican Th e Art Fund: www.artfund.org/ship lery, Clare Lilley at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Professor Art Gallery, London, and later exhibited in “Sensation: John Picton, Bisi Silva at the Centre of Contemporary Art from the Saatchi Collection,” London Mayor’s Offi ce: www.london.gov.uk/fourth- in Lagos, and Yinka Shonibare MBE. , London, 1997. plinth 1 Yinka Shonibare MBE, personal communica- 7 Yinka Shonibare MBE, personal communica- : www.rmg.co.uk/visit/exhi- tion, July 2, 2012. tion, July 7, 2012. bitions/nelsons-ship-in-a-bottle/ 2 Shonibare legally extended his name to include Yinka Shonibare MBE: www.shonibarembe.com his chivalric title MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), received in 2005. He Yorkshire Sculpture Park: www.ysp.co.uk

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