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From: Vestin Pance Category: Art Date: 11 February 2009 Time: 09:31 AM Review: Not a sincere response to the afore mensch, however, as a tributary there of. I had my winkles thoroughly refreshed last evening, no not as you [Art London] are pre supposing at a bona fide Gallery full to the gunwhales with sacked Hirst assistants and mawkish types lounging around with their tongues trailing like octupussy testicles for a cup of Pims No9 or a bevvy of Cab Sav, no non of these things. My inspired evening was as an attendee at an Art College / University Lecture by non other than Yinke Shonibare, if I misspelled him I apologise without and within hole in the heartedly. Loosely categorized as a Textiles Artist but actually he is very much The Artist, (Have you noticed how Grayson Perry always reaffirms his own assertion by announcing himself at the beginning of his Youtube submissions "I am an artist who...) Its always that first quadlet of words that make the announcement a bit suspect, like an estate agent describing an outdoor lavatory as the datcha. However Yinke Shonibare is represented by Stephen Friedland but I don't think there are any Yinke Shonibare exhibitions to currently attend, whether to wet the mouth or dry the cerebral quagmire. Yinke Shonibare is refurbishing a studio space in the Hoxton/ Grand Union Canal area which promises to be of interest, not as a gallery but he is initiating some sort of scheme to host curational or artist driven events whilst he remains ensconced within the same building, this should be happening sometime in September. My response to his representations and lecture is one of saint hood, the man is clear in his purpose and delivery, the work is epic and well established within a cultural context. The re-occouring epithet is one of cultural identity which sometimes vapourously arrives through fibres like another sense of smell. other times urgently dropped from a great height like a heavy weight of brash Nigerian textiled vibrancy, again it will be conscisely British in its restraint and subterranean threat or executed with a the authority of authentication. We need this guy!! The most well known of the exploits of this Artist is the H.M.S. Victory in a Bottle in Trafalgar Square, unfortunately Yinke Shonibare had to share the accolade of winning the opportunity to exhibit on the fourth plinth with the dreaded Gormley, Theres a downside to everything but this seems deeply unfair.