Wind Sculpture (TG) III

2026Aluminium, hand-painted with bespoke pattern2.42 × 3.51 × 8 metres

Yinka Shonibare explores complex historical, political, and cultural ideas through works that reveal the interconnected histories shaping the contemporary world. Wind Sculpture (TG) III (2026) captures the billowing form of a sail caught in the wind, harnessing motion into a monumental sculpture. Its hand-painted surface combines Shonibare’s signature Dutch wax patterns—derived from Indonesian batik, industrially produced by Dutch manufacturers and embraced across West Africa—with Emirati Sadu motifs, a centuries-old weaving tradition rooted in Bedouin life. Together, they create a new visual language that reflects how cultural identities are continually shaped through exchange, adaptation, and shared histories. Evoking the movement of sails across seas, the sculpture becomes a poetic expression of the enduring circulation of people, ideas, and traditions.

Artist's Biography

Yinka Shonibare

London, UK

Yinka Shonibare’s interdisciplinary practice employs physical materials such as Dutch wax textiles and bronze as vehicles for exploring complex historical, political, and cultural ideas. In doing so, the work uses material history as a lens for broader reflection, inviting a rethinking of how we perceive culture and encouraging new ways of understanding the world around us. Shonibare participated in documenta 11 (2002) and the 52nd and 60th Venice Biennales (2007, 2024). His work is held in collections including Tate, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC; and Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Shonibare studied at Byam Shaw School of Art (1989) and earned an MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (1991). He was nominated for the Turner Prize (2004), elected a Royal Academician (2013), appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2019), and founded the Yinka Shonibare Foundation and Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) (2019).

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