NOTHING IS FOREVER 2010

Editor: This is Yinka Shonibare's 2010 public artwork, "NOTHING IS FOREVER," a site-specific, mixed-media installation using vibrant geometric patterns. It’s pretty eye-catching and certainly transforms this ordinary building. What can you tell me about the imagery and what it means? Curator: Well, the artwork certainly catches the eye, doesn't it? Shonibare uses Dutch wax fabric, which has become a powerful symbol. Despite its name, the fabric’s origins aren't actually Dutch. The patterns were originally inspired by Indonesian batik, then mass-produced by the Dutch and English, and sold in West Africa. Think about how objects and styles travel and morph, how they become embedded in new cultural narratives, carrying that complex history. Does it change how you look at this work? Editor: Definitely. So it’s less about the geometric pattern itself, and more about what that pattern represents, the movement and adaptation of culture? Curator: Precisely. The title “NOTHING IS FOREVER” speaks to that constant flux, doesn’t it? Buildings change, cultures shift, meanings evolve. Shonibare often questions notions of authenticity and origin. The fabric is itself a product of cross-cultural exchange and a bit of colonial appropriation. It makes you wonder about the impermanence of any fixed idea, doesn’t it? Editor: So even something as solid-looking as a building can be thought of as temporary and evolving. I guess I initially just saw the building, and now I see something much more complicated. Curator: Indeed. Symbols accrue meaning over time, through usage, memory, and sometimes, re-appropriation. Shonibare uses familiar forms to provoke deeper considerations. Hopefully, you see much more when you come back.