Diary of a Victorian Dandy

Yinka Shonibare,
The Diary of a Victorian
Dandy Series. 19 hours.

Yinka Shonibare,
The Diary of a Victorian
Dandy Series. 11 hours.

Yinka Shonibare,
The Diary of a Victorian
Dandy Series. 14 hours.

Above is a number of photographs taken from Yinka Shonibare.s Diary of a Victorian Dandy. This series of photographs were inspired by the 19th bourgeoisie society and the colonial based mixture of different cultures. Yinka Shonibare plays the main character in the photographs, a dandy,a young well-dressed society gentleman who is admired by friends and doted on by servants. Shonibare uses the dandy figure to look at the relationship betweenrace and class in Victorian society, creating a fantasy social setting that explores power relationships and societal roles.

Shonibare stages a day in the life of such a gent, starting with a pampered wake-up call and - via billiards and an evening's entertainment .I find this use of grand narrative allows the photographs to fluently communicate concepts that are socially important in this day and age. I find the use of a black model in a Victorian based snobbery setting to be extremely symbolic and this juxtaposition of colliding cultures is truely what makes this image so captivating. I feel this series of photographs is relevant to my own work through the use of narrative and the theaterical style of the setting and imagery. I also feel that a social concept would play an important role in my imagery or polytych.