Yinka Shonibare CBE RA: End of Empire

See a strik­ing large-scale sculp­ture that com­ments on the bal­ance of pow­er at the out­set of the First World War.

‘End of Empire’ makes a visual connection between the conflicts of the West, globalisation and empire.

Commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the sculpture features two dapper figures with globe heads on a steam-punk seesaw. The globes represent the two ‘sides’ in the First World War: the British-French allies versus the Austro-Hungarians and Germans. The War witnessed the disappearance of four once-powerful realms (German, Habsburg, Ottoman and Russian), and the seesaw swings slowly, constantly rebalancing – a symbol of the move towards this ‘end of empire’.

The figures wear brightly coloured suits made of ‘Dutch wax’ textiles: fabric that tells a story about colonial history with designs that indicate the African lands formerly colonised by Europeans.

Yinka Shonibare’s ‘End of Empire’ sculpture is sure to get you thinking.

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