Yinka Shonibare created the present work in response to the African Bird Magic quilt series featured in the exhibition, which depicts endangered birds, including the Sokoke Scops Owl featured here. An African mask hovers over the owl, symbolising ancestors who were once custodians of the bird’s habitat before colonialism and industrialisation endangered many species. Shonibare often incorporates African masks in his work to highlight the historical journey of the masks to the West, tied to colonial exploitation and trade, which influenced modernist artists like Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920).

Shonibare celebrates these masks, explaining ‘they become symbols of African empowerment to challenge the consequences of Western colonial industrialisation in the degradation of the African environment.’ African Bird Magic series also serves as a warning, reflecting on the consequences of industrialisation and its subsequent ecological impact and reminding us of the species that may yet become extinct if we do not take care of our environment.

This limited edition was released on the occasion of Yinka Shonibare CBE’s exhibition Suspended States at Serpentine.