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Yinka Shonibare CBE RA

YINKA SHONIBARE CBE RA

Earth Pictures Goodman Gallery 5 June–24 July 2025 Johannesburg
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Press Release

Alongside, the artist will present an ongoing series of quilt works dedicated to wildlife and endangered species on the African Continent. Depicting the Red Colobus (Genus Piliocolobus), a species of monkey threatened with extinction found in forests from Senegal in the west, to the Zanzibar archipelago in the east. Red Colobuses are among the most vulnerable mammals to be targeted from heavily hunted forests. African Flower Magic (2025) depicts flora also facing ecological erasure and native to Southern Africa, specifically South Africa’s Northern Cape and Namibia’s arid regions.

Displayed in dialogue with the quilts, are Shonibare’s carved reproductions of African ancestral masks - here hand painted in the hallmark batik employed across his works. The sculptures offer a glimpse into the pre-industrial African spiritual beliefs which coalesced harmoniously with nature. At a time of environmental crisis, the masks present in both the quilts and sculptural works exist as symbolic protectors of vulnerable flora and fauna.

Earth Pictures maps a concerning topography: one of ever-changing landscapes and environments shaped by extraction, greed and the lingering legacy of colonialism. The exhibition also highlights the urgent need to confront the consequences of Western colonial industrialisation and its role in the degradation of Africa’s environment.

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Installation Views

Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
Exhibition view: Yinka Shonibare, Earth Pictures, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (5 Jun - 24 July, 2025). Courtesy Goodman Gallery.
About the Artist

Yinka Shonibare CBE (b. 1962, London, UK) moved to Lagos, Nigeria, at age three. He returned to London to study Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art (now Central Saint Martins College) and then at Goldsmiths College, where he received his MFA.

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Also Exhibiting at Goodman Gallery

All Exhibitions
Chemu Ng'ok
CHEMU NG'OK Those we remember or are yet to meet Goodman Gallery 25 July–19 September 2026 Cape Town
Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION Summer Show Goodman Gallery 16 July–12 September 2026 London
Unathi Mkonto
UNATHI MKONTO If Joburg had a beach, who would go? Goodman Gallery 6 June–15 August 2026 Johannesburg
Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION Presentation of major outdoor sculptures in the gardens of Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Goodman Gallery
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes Cedex 20 April–18 October 2026
About the Gallery

Goodman Gallery is an international contemporary art gallery with locations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. The gallery represents artists whose work confronts entrenched power structures and inspires social change.

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Address
163 Jan Smuts Avenue
Parkwood
Johannesburg
South Africa
Opening Hours
Tuesday - Friday
9am - 5pm

Saturday
9am - 2pm
(1)
Johannesburg 163 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood
Goodman Gallery contemporary art gallery in Johannesburg South Africa
Goodman Gallery
163 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg, South Africa
+27 117 881 113
http://www.goodman-gallery.com

Opening hours
Tuesday - Friday
9am - 5pm

Saturday
9am - 2pm
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