FAKE DEATH PICTURE (THE SUICIDE, MANET) 2011

Yinka Shonibare made this photograph, FAKE DEATH PICTURE (THE SUICIDE, MANET), as a scene to be regarded. It’s like he has set up a stage. What strikes me is that the fabrics do a lot of the talking. There's a tension between the domestic interior – the bed, the rug, the framed picture hanging on the wall – and the Dutch wax print fabric, which has a life of its own. Look at the way the colours bounce off each other, those electric blues and yellows. The orange of the stockings is really jumping out. This is a work of considered gestures. I'm reminded of David Hockney, in the way Shonibare has created a whole world within a picture, where history, identity, and representation are all up for grabs. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, but about keeping the conversation going.