Yinka Shonibare Garden of Love (review)

YINKA SHONIBARE GARDEN OF LOVE Musee du Quai Branly Paris, France April 2 - July 8, 2007 A t ail t ransparent wall separat es t he gardens of t he Musee du Quai Branly f rom Quai Branly, t he st reet . The gar dens , whi ch are separat ed by walls and a moat on t he Rue de I'Universit e side as well, make up an encl osed space of f ant asy. The w i ndi ng sidewal ks lead vi si t or s under t he museum's i nt ent i onally boat like st ruct ure, and t o t he museum, t he caf e, or t o cl earings hi dden f rom view. Embedded i n t he si dewalks are "t resors," obj ect s such as cowrie shel l s and iridescent i nsect s encased i n r esin. The t heme of t he gar den is t ravel and discovery. Havi ng seen t he pl ans f or t he gar dens at t he Musee du Quai Branly while t he museum w as st il l under const r uct i on, t he art ist Yi nka Shoni bar e, MBE, pl anned hi s exhi bi t i on Garden of Love (Jardin d'amour), whi ch was on view f rom April 2 unt il Jul y 8, 2007. He explains in an int erview incl uded i n t he show cat al og t hat , havi ng previousl y wor ked w i t h i mager y f rom Fragonard's oeuvre, t he pl ans f or t he museum gardens br ought t o hi s mind Versailles and t he hi ghl y cont rol l ed charact er of French gar dens. 1 While t he cat al og cont ai ns several int erest i ng essays anal yzi ng Shoni bar e's use of ei ght eent h-cent ur y garden i mager y i n a cr i t i que of t w ent y- f i r st cent ur y excess and inequit y, it i s unsur pr i si ng t hat t he show 's impl ied crit ique of t he Musee du Quai Branly it sel f i s not ment i oned in t he at t ract ive, if smal l , book publ i shed by Fl ammar i on and t he Musee du Quai Branly. Nonet hel ess, i n t his work commi ssi oned by t he museum , Shoni bar e playf ully denounces t he i deol ogi es around which it w as built . Jean-Honor e Fragonard w as t he qui nt essent i al Rococo paint er, and hi s pai nt i ngs are of t en under st ood as t he epit ome of pre-Revol ut ionary French arist ocrat ic excess. Shoni bar e t ook up t hree scenes f rom Fragonard's Progress of Love series of 1773 t o ref lect t he cal l oused and obl i vi ous sel f -absor pt i on of t he wealt hy, but also t o mine what Yinka Shonibare, MBE, The Confession, 2007. Inst allat ion view, Jardin d' Amour, Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, France. Tw o mannequins, Dut ch wax print ed cot t on textile, shoes, coir mat t ing, art ificial silk f lowers. Overall: 158 x 178 x 170 cm. Court esy of t he artist, James Cohan Gallery (New York) and St ephen Friedman Gallery (London). Mary Sherif f has t ermed t he erot ics of Fr agonar d's w or k . 2 Gar dens were spaces t hat evoked adul t play, especially illicit l over s' meet i ngs. Fragonard 's work demonst rat es t hat f or t he ei ght eent h-cent ur y French arist ocracy, even t hose behavi or s had t heir convent i ons. Il l i ci t...