Yinka ShonibareFlower Kid (Girl), 2022
Fibreglass mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, globe, brass, steel baseplate, painted fibreglass, wire, and silk
Sculpture (including baseplate)
Flower Kid (Girl) shows the costumed figure of a child holding a bouquet of flowers that are critically endangered, speaking to the current context of global anxiety about the planet. The sculptures all incorporate a globe-like form in the position of a head printed with an astrological map. The names of the endangered flower species replace the names of the constellations and so the loss of nature here on earth is imbued with cosmic importance.
Below is a list of critically endangered flowers that were selected in the bouquet:
Iris Westii
Tiny Flowered Paphiopedilum - Paphiopedilum micranthum
Silene de Ifac - Silene hifacensis
Mosquera de Tamadaba - Globularia ascanii
Clay’s Hibiscus - Hibiscus clayi
Drury’s Paphiopedilum - Paphiopedilum druryi
