Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, Monument to the Restitution of the Mind and Soul, Nigeria Imaginary at the Nigeria Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia (2024). Copyright Yinka Shonibare CBE RA. Photos by Andrea Rosseti.
Congratulations to Yinka Shonibare CBE on his participation in Nigeria's national pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, from April 20 to November 24, 2024. Shonibare is featured in the group exhibition, titled Nigeria Imaginary, curated by Aindrea Emelife, alongside Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Ndidi Dike, Onyeka Igwe, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Abraham Oghobase, Precious Okoyomon, and Fatimah Tuggar.
Responding to ongoing debates around restitution, Shonibare’s work Monument to the Restitution of the Mind and Soul, 2024, explores and examines the Benin expedition of 1897, which led to the looting of thousands of valuable spiritual and cultural artefacts from the kingdom of Benin. The sheer scale of the theft is impossible to fully recreate. Here, a small percentage of the stolen artefacts are remade in clay and displayed on a pyramid structure.