Yinka Shonibare MBE (b. 1962)

“On the one hand, the masquerade is about ambiguity, but on the other hand–it involves a moment when the working classes could play at being members of the aristocracy for a day, and vice versa. We're talking about power within society, relations of power. As a black person in this context, I can create fantasies of empowerment in relation to white society, even if historically that equilibrium or equality really hasn't arrived yet. This is something that art is able to do quite well, because it’s a space of transformation, where you can go beyond the ordinary.” (Y. Shonibare quoted in A. Downey, “Interview: Yinka Shonibare by Anthony Downey,” BOMB, no. 93, fall 2005, p. 25-26)