Wind Sculpture in Bronze I
Yinka Shonibare CBE

Yinka Shonibare CBE’s series of Wind Sculptures evolved from his artworks Vasa Ship from 2004 and Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle which was created in 2010 for the Fourth Plinth on Trafalgar Square. Changing the original white sails of these famous ships to colourful African batik prints, the works become a metaphor for migration through the seas.

The wax fabrics, with their repetitive graphic patterns and bright colours, are a signature motif in Shonibare’s works. Based on Indonesian batiks, the designs were appropriated by Dutch colonisers and mass-produced in the Netherlands during the 19th century. They were then sold to European colonies in West Africa where they were swiftly adopted and during the mid 20th century became a symbol for liberation and African identity. This mixed origin of the textiles makes them a perfect vehicle for discussions of cultural hybridisation, global entanglement, and multi-layered identity.

Shonibare’s sculpture for the Princess Estelle Sculpture Park on Royal Djurgården is a development of this Wind Sculpture series and an attempt to capture the weightlessness of air in solid, heavy bronze. The sculpture is hand painted in purple hues with a raised abstracted leaf pattern that exposes the natural colour of the bronze patina.

Wind Sculpture in Bronze I is the third work acquired by the Princess Estelle Cultural Foundation and was donated by Mari and Thomas Eldered. The sculpture was inaugurated on 2 June 2022 by H.R.H. Prince Daniel.