Nelson's Ship in a Bottle was fabricated in London by MDM Props. The acrylic bottle was cast in Rome by Clax Italia. This page documents the construction of the final work, showing the detail of the ship model. There are also examples of other artist and commercial projects by MDM, and a recent aquarium made by Clax Italia.
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) bottle neck
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) MDM Props
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) stern
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) air con
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) welding by Brian Helmkamp
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) blocks
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) circles detail
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) boats
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) flame detail
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) gunport
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) hatch
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) mast
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) flag
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) shrouds
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) steps
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) figurehead
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) spanker sail with aerosol
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) sail design 2
Yinka Shonibare, Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) sail design 1
Vlisco billboard (2019) Lagos, Nigeria
Set design by Anish Kapoor for Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (2013 production) fabricated by MDM Props
Fiona Banner, Sea Harrier jet (Harrier and Jaguar, 2010) fabricated by MDM Props
Fiona Banner, Sepecat Jaguar jet (Harrier and Jaguar, 2010) fabricated by MDM Props
MDM Props (Hulk)
MDM Props (Beanoland)
High Seas at Nausicaa, Boulogne-sur-Mer (opened 2018) acrylic tank by Clax Italia
The BBC film What Do Artists Do All day? Yinka Shonibare was first broadcast in 2016. It is one of a series of documentaries exploring the working lives and creative process of contemporary artists. It follows the production of Balloon Man (2015), giving an insight into the artist’s collaboration with his studio team, with MDM Props and the costumer Miranda Curran, and with his London dealer Stephen Friedman. (Note: the sound is intermittent in part 1).