Notes:
Gallery 1 - Isaac Julien RA
* Denzil Forrester, Echo Them, Oil on canvas.
* Yinka Shonibare RA, Air Kid (Girl), Fibreglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textiles, globe, steel baseplate, and umbrella.
Gallery 2 - Large Weston Room, Jane & Louise Wilson RA
* Eugene Palmer, Nadine Wild-Palmer (Yellow), Oil.
Gallery 3 - Stephen Farthing RA
*Julien Schabel oil on polyester (BEZ)
* The Late John Wragg RA, Homage to Hans, Acrylic (and all the other portraits)
Gallery 4 - Sonia Boyce RA
* Athena Anastasiou, Bringing The Past To New Horizons, oil, wool, and acrylic yarn on linen.
Gallery 5 - Eva Jiricna
Gallery VIII- David Remfry
Gallery IX - Stephen Farthing
* Zhang Songtao, Reborn Baby, camphor wood
Fibreglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, globe, steel baseplate, and umbrella.
Dimensions: 148 x 118 x 172 cm , Value: £150,000.
Gallery 1, Curator: Isaac Julien RA, 2:03.
This is a 3D sculpture of a girl in action (running) created by Yinka Shonibare who is a British-Nigerian artist that explores cultural identity. I like this piece of work as it reminded me of childhood and Japanese cartoons where the characters would run with the wind.
What stood out to me is the beautiful posture of the kid and the vibrant clothing full of tertiary colours that catch your eye instantly. The colours feel very warm and inviting. Shonibare is clearly very influenced by his use of Ankara fabric (a.k.a African Prints), as he uses it on all of his sculptures. With this particular piece, I love the floral theme of the dress with the contrasting leaves and flowers, it feels modern yet traditional. I also like the use of spirals for shoes. I feel that every part of the sculpture is an art piece in itself.
Shonibare uses thin lines for the fabric patterns as I think he wants us to experience the richness of colour and not be distracted by the lines themselves. I also appreciate the tiny details from the pattern, posture, and to the use of a globe for the girl's head. I feel that this piece represents culture and history due to the globe and his traditional African patterns. Overall, I really love the 'Air Kid' as it has many elements such as movement, vibrancy in pattern and colour, and the concept behind it.
Oil, wool, and acrylic yarn on linen.
Dimensions: 180 x 115 x 5 cm
Gallery IV, Curator: Sonia Boyce RA, 19:35.
This is a mixed media portrait of a young black male with a colourful jacket dripping with yarn hanging down from the painting. I like the composition of the man being front-centre as we ultimately focus on him and who the artist is telling he is. I love the use of mixed media as it brings 2D and 3D work together, creating more different textures like the smooth oil paint and the softness of the yarn.
The striking thing about this piece is the contrast in colour. The man fades with the background as it's mostly dark neutral tones such as brown, grey and black, and his clothing overpowers him greatly by the use of primary and secondary colours. I also like his facial expression as it gives me the feeling that he's confident and not bothered about what other people think about his choice of style. I think this art piece is about identity and perhaps fashion due to the man being the main focal point followed by the huge scale of the portrait. It makes us think he's trying to stand out and show the audience how clothing can be a pathway for a human have pure self-expression and it could even be an armour to others.
Overall, I loved this piece due to the mixed media work which is something that I'm trying to incorporate within my skill set and practice.
Mini Conclusion:
Between the two art pieces, if I could buy one of them it would be Yinka Shonibare's "Air Kid (Gir)" sculpture due to the use of so many elements, patterns, texture, and vibrancy in colour. I think it's really 'cute' and modern.
Considering the Exhibition as a whole, I personally liked the Lecture, Room (curated by Richard Deacon RA) at 44:28. I enjoy work that is different from mine, like sculptures and ceramics as I believe they are pieces that take a long time and dedication to complete. There were two pieces that caught my eye, it was the Zhang Songtao, Reborn baby sculpture (45:20) and the Cathie Pilkington RA, Dazzel, sculpture (48:16). I think both of those were striking due to the scale in height and use of colour/pattern. Overall, the whole exhibition was great to look at. It was nice to see real, creative, modern art that are not just block-shaped paintings of primary colours!
Royalacademy.org.uk. 2020. Virtual Tour: Summer Exhibition 2020 | Blog | Royal Academy Of Arts. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/video-virtual-tour-summer-exhibition-2020> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
Se.royalacademy.org.uk. 2020. 11 - AIR KID (GIRL) By Yinka Shonibare RA. [online] Available at: <https://se.royalacademy.org.uk/2020/artworks/yinka-shonibare-ra/11> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
Se.royalacademy.org.uk. 2020. 195 - BRINGING THE PAST TO NEW HORIZONS By Athena Anastasiou. [online] Available at: <https://se.royalacademy.org.uk/2020/artworks/athena-anastasiou/195> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
Tate Kids. 2020. Who Is Yinka Shonibare? – Who Are They? | Tate Kids. [online] Available at: <https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-yinka-shonibare> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
Athena Anastasiou. 2020. Athena Anastasiou. [online] Available at: <https://www.athenaanastasiou.com/> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
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