London

V&A South Kensington
22 June 2024 – 6 April 2025

The V&A will open the major exhibition NAOMI: In Fashion, which explores the
unequalled 40-year career of fashion model and cultural icon Naomi Campbell (b. 1970).
A trailblazer in the field, her celebrated ability to ‘walk’ the catwalk, along with the special
alchemy she creates through collaborations with every major fashion house, fashion publication
and leading fashion photographers, ensure that after four decades in the fashion
industry, Campbell continues to star in catwalk shows, advertising campaigns
and editorial fashion shoots around the world. In parallel, Campbell’s cultural leadership,
activism and championing of emerging creatives transcend the traditional parameters of the
fashion model role.
Produced in collaboration with Campbell and foregrounding her voice and perspective, NAOMI:
In Fashion is the first exhibition of its kind. The exhibition draws upon Campbell’s own extensive
wardrobe of haute couture and ready-to-wear ensembles from key moments in her career along
with loans from designer archives and objects from the V&A’s collections. Highlights include a
dramatic 1989 Thierry Mugler car-inspired corset, Campbell’s look from Sarah Burton’s last Alexander McQueen show, a pink Valentino ensemble worn at the 2019 Met Gala and a pair of
staggeringly high Vivienne Westwood platform shoes worn by Campbell during her famous 1993
catwalk fall. The exhibition includes around 100 looks and accessories from the best of global
high fashion chronicling her 40 years in the industry. Visitors can encounter designs by
Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui, Azzedine Alaïa, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gianni and
Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Ize, Torishéju
Dumi, Valentino, Virgil Abloh, Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent and many others.

Naomi Campbell said: “I’m honoured to be asked by the V&A to share my life in clothes with the
world.”

More www.vam.ac.uk

Copyright Text: V&A South Kensington

Serpentine South
12 April – 1 September 2024

It coincides with the artist’s presentation at the 60th International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia from April 2024.

For over 30 years, Yinka Shonibare CBE has used Western art history and literature to explore contemporary culture and national identities. Suspended States is the artist’s first London solo exhibition in over 20 years. It showcases new works, interrogating how systems of power affect sites of refuge, debates on public statues, the ecological impact of colonialisation and the legacy of imperialism on conflict and consequential attempts at peace.

The exhibition includes two new major installations at Serpentine South. Sanctuary City (2024) is comprised of miniature buildings representing places of refuge for persecuted and vulnerable groups. The War Library (2024) consists of 5,000 books bound in Dutch wax print representing conflicts and peace treaties.

Throughout the exhibition Shonibare’s signature use of Dutch wax print symbolises the tangled relationship between Africa and Europe. This brightly coloured fabric was inspired by Indonesian batik designs, mass-produced by the Dutch and eventually sold to British colonies in West Africa, where it later was referred to as ‘African print.’ In Decolonised Structures (2022-2023) the artist paints these patterns on his smaller-scale replicas of London’s large public sculptures. Reconstructing colonial figures such as Queen Victoria and Herbert Kitchener, Shonibare questions the role and presence of these monuments.

Additional works highlight luxurious lifestyles supported by colonisation and the importance of African art to global culture. Shonibare also draws links between the history of xenophobia and the impact of colonisation on the environment in his quilts, including his new series African Bird Magic (2024).

The exhibition also highlights Shonibare’s social practice including his Guest Project experimental space in Hackney and the Guest Artist Space (G.A.S.) Foundation he launched in Nigeria in 2019.

More www.serpentinegalleries.org

Copyright Text: Serpentine South

15 February – 1 September 2024

Tate Modern

Yoko Ono is a leading figure in conceptual and performance art, experimental film and music. Developing her practice in America, Japan and the UK, she is renowned for her activism, work for world peace, and environmental campaigns. Ideas are central to her art, often expressed in poetic, humorous and radical ways.

Spanning more than seven decades, the exhibition focuses on key moments in Ono’s career, including her years in London from 1966 to 1971, where she met John Lennon.

The show explores some of Ono’s most talked about artworks and performances, from Cut Piece (1964), where people were invited to cut off her clothing, to her banned Film No.4 (Bottoms) (1966-67) which she created as a ‘petition for peace’.

Alongside her early performances, works on paper, objects, and music, audiences will discover a selection of her activist projects such as PEACE is POWER and Wish Tree, where visitors can contribute personal wishes for peace.

Through her instructions and event scores, Ono invites visitors to take part in both simple acts of the imagination and active encounters with her works.

More Info www.tate.org.uk

Copyright Text : Tate Modern