The artwork, titled “FAKE DEATH PICTURE (THE SUICIDE LEONARDO ALENZA),” created by artist Yinka Shonibare in 2011, is a piece belonging to the contemporary and postcolonial art movements. Executed in the medium of photography, this genre of art is characterized by a vivid and elaborate staging of the subject matter.
In the artwork, a figure garbed in a strikingly ornate outfit appears to be in the dramatic act of falling or leaping off a steep cliffside, holding a dagger in one hand. The figure’s attire is notably rich in patterns and colors, combining traditional African textiles with elements reminiscent of 18th-century European fashion. The scene evokes a sense of theatricality and surrealism, further emphasized by the backdrop, which depicts a desolate landscape with an ominous tree and a hanged figure, alongside a small make-shift monument or altar with a candle and an open book. The background’s painterly quality contrasts with the three-dimensionality of the foreground figure, blending elements of classical and contemporary visual language.
