Not on display

Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 14.00 hours

Photograph
2012 (printed), 1998 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Diary of a Victorian Dandy is a series of five photographs depicting the artist Yinka Shonibare playing the role of a dandy. The series of tableaux show this pretentious, status-conscious figure who seeks acceptance in an aristocratic milieu, at different times of day, engaged in increasingly debaucherous activities. The work demonstrates Shonibare’s identification with the dandy as an outsider or foreigner who uses his flamboyance, wit and style to penetrate the highest levels of society, which would otherwise be closed to him. Much of Shonibare's work engages with his ‘outsider’ status as a black, disabled artist and investigates conditions of postcolonialism and globalisation. This series also engages with the construction of identity and nostalgic representations of British heritage.

The photographs are the result of an elaborate production. Shonibare employed professional actors, make up artists and costumiers, a commercial photographer, and the director of BBC costume dramas for a three day shoot ‘on location’ at a stately home. Shonibare describes the photographs, which he presents in fake gilt frames, as ‘pure theatre’.

This image from the series was first displayed as a 16-sheet poster at almost 100 sites across the London Underground. The display was deliberately ambiguous and the Institute of International Visual Arts, who commissioned the series, employed a market research company to test public responses to the posters. The people surveyed mostly associated the image with theatre productions, stately homes and period dramas, as well as genuine historical figures. The photographs are conscious imitations of these sources and also make reference to William Hogarth’s series of paintings and engravings A Rake’s Progress (1733).

Diary of a Victorian Dandy was acquired in part through the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.

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Discover more about this object
read Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience Working in partnership with Black Cultural Archives, we identified and acquired photographs taken by black photographers, or which document the lives of black people in Britain, taken between the 1950s – 90s.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleDiary of a Victorian Dandy: 14.00 hours (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
C-type print. Unglazed in a fake gilt frame.
Brief description
Photograph by Yinka Shonibare, 'Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 14.00 hours' from the series Diary of a Victorian Dandy, C-type print, 1998, printed 2012, AP 1 of 2, from an edition of 5, plus 2 APs
Physical description
A framed colour photograph of a man dressed in a grey suit standing in the centre of a study holding a piece of paper. He is surrounded by five other men, three are seated and two standing. To the right of the image, four women dressed as maids stand in the doorway.
Dimensions
  • Image width: 183cm
  • Frame height: 135cm
  • Frame width: 196cm
  • Image height: 122cm
  • Image width: 183
  • Frame height: 134.5cm
  • Frame width: 195.5cm
Production typeArtist's proof
Copy number
1 of 2 artist's proofs
Gallery label
Making It Up: Photographic Fictions (2018)

In this series, Shonibare plays the role of a dandy, an outsider who uses his flamboyance, wit and style to penetrate the highest levels of society. Loosely based on William Hogarth’s cycle of paintings and engravings A Rake’s Progress (1733), the photographs follow the dandy’s increasingly decadent activities throughout the day. As a playful comment on historic depictions of black people, Shonibare imagines himself as a central character in scenes set during the height of British colonial power.

Marta Weiss
(16/02/2015-24/05/2015)
Text label for the exhibition, 'Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience, 1950s-1990s
16 February – 24 May 2015

Yinka Shonibare MBE (born 1962)
Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 11.00 hours
Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 14.00 hours
Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 17.00 hours
Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 21.00 hours
Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 03.00 hours
1998

In this series, Shonibare plays the role of a dandy, an
outsider who uses his flamboyance, wit and style to
penetrate the highest levels of society. Loosely based on
William Hogarth’s 18th-century series of paintings A Rake’s
Progress, the photographs follow the dandy’s increasingly
decadent activities throughout the day. As a playful
comment on historic depictions of black people, Shonibare
imagines himself as a central character in scenes set during
the height of British colonial power.

C-type prints (printed 2012)
Purchased in part by the Photographs Acquisition Group
Museum nos. E.235 to 239-2013
Credit line
Purchased with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Photographs Acquisition Group
Object history
The V&A acquired this photograph as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Historical context
This image from Shonibare's Diary of a Victorian Dandy series was reproduced on posters placed at sites across the London Underground in 1998.
Subjects depicted
Associations
Summary
Diary of a Victorian Dandy is a series of five photographs depicting the artist Yinka Shonibare playing the role of a dandy. The series of tableaux show this pretentious, status-conscious figure who seeks acceptance in an aristocratic milieu, at different times of day, engaged in increasingly debaucherous activities. The work demonstrates Shonibare’s identification with the dandy as an outsider or foreigner who uses his flamboyance, wit and style to penetrate the highest levels of society, which would otherwise be closed to him. Much of Shonibare's work engages with his ‘outsider’ status as a black, disabled artist and investigates conditions of postcolonialism and globalisation. This series also engages with the construction of identity and nostalgic representations of British heritage.

The photographs are the result of an elaborate production. Shonibare employed professional actors, make up artists and costumiers, a commercial photographer, and the director of BBC costume dramas for a three day shoot ‘on location’ at a stately home. Shonibare describes the photographs, which he presents in fake gilt frames, as ‘pure theatre’.

This image from the series was first displayed as a 16-sheet poster at almost 100 sites across the London Underground. The display was deliberately ambiguous and the Institute of International Visual Arts, who commissioned the series, employed a market research company to test public responses to the posters. The people surveyed mostly associated the image with theatre productions, stately homes and period dramas, as well as genuine historical figures. The photographs are conscious imitations of these sources and also make reference to William Hogarth’s series of paintings and engravings A Rake’s Progress (1733).

Diary of a Victorian Dandy was acquired in part through the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
E.236-2013

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Record createdMay 15, 2013
Record URL
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