© 2026 Yinka Shonibare CBE. All Rights Reserved, DACS
The Burton at Bideford is delighted to announce the acquisition of Yinka Shonibare CBE RA’s Mayflower, All Flowers (2020) to its permanent collection. The work is on display until 15 March 2026 in our current exhibition ‘Hubert Coop and Friends: A Legacy of Art and Influence’. This purchase is made possible with support from Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Art Fund and The Friends of The Burton.
Shonibare is one the UK’s leading contemporary artists, whose interdisciplinary practice incorporates painting, sculpture, prints, photography and film. Through examining race, class and the construction of cultural identity, his work comments on the tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe, and their respective economic and political histories. He was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2004, and his first public art commission, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, was displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2010. In summer 2024 The Burton presented his solo exhibition ‘Yinka Shonibare CBE: Modern Spiritual’ which was attended by over 15,000 visitors.
Mayflower, All Flowers – a large relief print with woodblock and fabric detail – was created to mark the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower ship to America, a pivotal moment in the histories of migration, colonisation, and transatlantic exchange. The 10-week voyage set off in 1620 from Plymouth just 55 miles from Bideford, transporting a group of English families to the United States and dropping anchor at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The acquisition of Shonibare’s work marks an important step in The Burton’s strategy of bringing art by leading contemporary artists into conversation with the unique stories, heritage and culture of Northern Devon. The work encourages conversation about migration, identity and global exchange in connection with Bideford’s own maritime history which includes the transatlantic trade of tobacco, timber, ceramics and cod.
Harriet Cooper, Director of The Burton at Bideford, says:
“Yinka Shonibare CBE RA’s Mayflower, All Flowers is a significant acquisition to The Burton at Bideford’s collection and we look forward to sharing this work with our audiences through our 75th anniversary year and beyond. This purchase is part of our strategy to bring work by leading contemporary artists into conversation with the unique heritage of Northern Devon, reflecting on how our rich local identity connects to vital global conversations.”
The Burton’s permanent collection includes over 3,000 artworks and objects, covering a breadth of specialisms including fine art, ceramics, decorative art, photography and works on paper. Originally established through artist Hubert Coop RBA’s gift to the borough of Bideford, the collection has grown through major acquisitions and gifts over the past 75-years to represent works of local, national and international significance.
Mayflower, All Flowers is initially on display in ‘Hubert Coop and Friends: A Legacy of Art and Influence’, an exhibition tracing the development of The Burton’s permanent collection in 75 objects for 75 years. The work will be a key part of the two-year project Burton 2101: Collections for the Future supported by Art Fund, and the centrepiece of an exhibition in 2027 exploring Bideford’s ceramics and transatlantic trade.
‘Hubert Coop and Friends: A Legacy of Art and Influence’ until 15 March 2026 at The Burton at Bideford, EX39 2QQ. Free entry.
