ANTI MASTURBATION DEVICE 2011

This is Yinka Shonibare’s ANTI MASTURBATION DEVICE, presented in a clear box. I am thinking about the artist here and their motivations for creating this work. Shonibare’s combination of materials – the cool, hard metal against the soft fabric, the 'African' wax print straps – are interesting. What can we learn from this unusual device? Perhaps Shonibare is exploring how devices and rules can be used to control pleasure or the body, and how these controls relate to broader cultural and historical forces. The title tells us to control our urges. But it looks like something from a sci-fi movie, a sterile, high-tech version of something deeply human and natural. The work invites conversation and contemplation of the way power and desire intersect in our personal and shared experiences. Ultimately, art gives us a place to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and explore the messy, complex, and contradictory aspects of being human.