Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom
10 Sep 2014 - 09 Nov 2014
Yinka Shonibare MBE, Five Under Garments and Much More (1995). Copyright the artist. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London Photograph by Mark Blower.
Yinka Shonibare’s exhibition at Ikon in 1999 was seminal. Ikon Gallery now shows Five Under Garments and Much More (1995), an early suspended installation that prefigures the artist’s mannequin works. Each piece mimics the structured corsetry of period noble dress but the dramatically enlarged proportions and exuberant textiles suggest a provocative de-robing of social and class constructions.
Ikon Icons sees the return to Ikon of five key British artists from an exhibition programme that has extended over five decades – including John Salt, Ian Emes, Cornelia Parker, Yinka Shonibare MBE and Julian Opie. A presentation of work by each takes place, consecutively, throughout 2014 in Ikon’s Tower Room.
The series is a major component of Ikon 50, the programme of exhibition and events celebrating Ikon’s 50th anniversary.
