Identity as Created Reality: Yinka Shonibare's Use of Cultural Opposites in Textile Art
Overview
This essay analyzes how artist Yinka Shonibare uses fabric design combining African and Victorian European elements to convey identity as a constructed reality shaped by lived experience. The paper examines connotation and denotation as communication methods that reveal Shonibare's hybrid cultural identity, arguing that identity is formed through diverse traits, values, and attitudes accumulated throughout one's lifetime.
What this essay covers
- Analysis of fabric design merging African and European cultural signifiers
- Explanation of connotation versus denotation as meaning-making tools
- Argument that identity is a created reality influenced by cultural background and lived experience
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Re-Dressing History
In this fabric, there are several aspects of the fabric that assist in conveying the message of identity using opposites. One of the aspects is how the fabric is designed, with several traits related to African. It is also exhibited to have certain Victorian signifiers such as overstuffed parlor and corseted dresses. There a merging of both African and European culture, which are two opposites that lead to a certain identity. It reveals how the artist was born in Britain but later moved to live in Nigeria (Hynes). The two opposites, African culture and British culture are used to convey the identity of the artist.
Connotation refers to the feeling that a particular word conveys while denotation refers to what the word actually says. These are two methods that are used to describe certain the meanings of words. In connotation, we can have either positive or negative associations that the words carry in their natural meaning. On the other hand, denotation refers to the precise and literal definition of the word as found in the dictionary (Hynes). In this text, connotation and denotation are important communication channels used to reveal the identity traits of Shonibare.
I agree with Yinka Shonibare that identity is a created reality. This is because it entails the diverse traits, values, and attitudes that influenced an individual’s life through his or her lifetime. Therefore, it is these realities that lead to formation of an identity.