WINDY CHAIR I (ORANGE AND BLUE) 2014

Yinka Shonibare’s ‘Windy Chair I (Orange and Blue)’ is a really striking use of fabric to create something solid. I imagine he was thinking a lot about form, and how he could take something soft and transform it into something dynamic and still. These fabrics, so vibrant with their orange and blue patterns, almost seem to defy gravity. It’s like Shonibare has captured a moment of pure energy, like a gust of wind has swept through and frozen a chair in mid-dance. I wonder if Shonibare was smiling when he made this, like he knew that he was making something that was really, truly alive? It reminds me of how other painters use color and line to create a feeling of movement and rhythm. Like Shonibare, they’re all in conversation, exploring different ways of bringing energy and life to their work. It’s not just about what we see, but what we feel when we see it.