Although Yinka Shonibare deals with pressing global issues, his work is not dry. He wants viewers to engage on whatever level they choose, whether taking simple delight in his use of brilliantly patterned textiles or responding to the concerns he addresses.
Shonibare’s room-size installation “The American Library” is on view at the Davidson College Art Galleries through Dec. 14. The project includes 6,000 books covered in vivid Dutch wax textiles; on the spines of 3,200 of these books are the names of first- and second-generation Americans — some famous, some not — who have benefited from immigration. Most have made contributions to fields as varied as politics, art, and science; others have enriched themselves by exploiting and demonizing immigrants.
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