244. The Swing (after Fragonard). Yinka Shonibre. 2001 CE Mixed-media installation

• Interpretation
  • The artist was inspired by Fragonard’s The Swing
  • This work is a life-sized headless mannequin
  • The dress is made of Dutch wax fabric, sold in Africa: it references global trade and postcolonial life in Africa.
  • Flowering vines are cast to the floor
  • A headless figure: guillotined by the French Revolution
• Context
  • Yinka Shonibare was British born, but of Nigerian descent; he lives and works in London
  • Two men in the Fragonard painting are not included; the audience takes the place of the men; erotic voyeurism.