Last week, we were delighted to attend the opening of Yinka Shonibare CBE’s Suspended States exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, London. As one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary artists, this show is his first at a major UK gallery in over twenty years.

Creatures of the Mappa Mundi was a Meadow Arts commission in 2018, which invited Yinka Shonibare CBE to respond to one of Hereford Cathedral’s hidden gems, the Mappa Mundi, which is the largest medieval map of the world to survive to the present day.

Depicted around the edge of the map are mythical creatures from other worlds, including the Mandragora and the Bonnacon. These along with four other strange and wonderful creatures were recreated as vibrant, quilt wall hangings by Yinka Shonibare CBE using his distinctive ‘African print’ fabric.

Three of the six quilts were made in Hereford by local community groups under the support and guidance of Shonibare Studio and Yinka himself, who would video call into the workshop sessions to offer advice. Once the exhibition was installed in Hereford Cathedral Cloisters, many other groups from the city engaged with the works from January to June 2019, making it a truly inclusive, landmark project for Meadow Arts.

Anne and I were bursting with pride to see those wonderful artworks, created in Herefordshire, as part of such a significant exhibition in a major London gallery. Yinka was so inspired by the Creatures of the Mappa Mundi quilts that he went on to create further quilted works, African Bird Magic (2024), also on show as part of the Suspended States exhibition. The exhibition is powerful, moving, and joyous! Do visit if you can!

Clare Purcell, Executive Director

For Yinka, the Mappa Mundi portrayals of these creatures from far-away lands reflect how fear of the unfamiliar can so easily and durably instil xenophobia and alienation.

Anne de Charmant, Artistic Director

Suspended States includes new and recent installations, sculptures, pictorial quilts and woodcut prints. The works on view explore central themes of legacies of colonial power, sites of refuge and shelter. Shonibare’s new works centre on migration and related conflicts, conversations on public sculptures and their significance in our cities. The exhibition delves into the ecological impact of colonisation, the European legacy of imperialism and consequential attempts at peace.

Yinka Shonibare CBE: Suspended States
Serpentine South Gallery
12 April – 1 September 2024
FREE
serpentinegalleries.org