The work of the British-born Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare MBE is preoccupied with the decline of empires, and in particular with Horatio Nelson, the figurehead of the British Empire at the height of its power. It was a delicious irony, then, when Shonibare was awarded the title of Member of the British Empire, in 2005, and he’s attached the honorific to his name ever since. Shonibare’s latest exhibition, “Addio del Passato,” which opens today at James Cohan Gallery, in Chelsea, dresses Lord Nelson in African wax prints and situates him in five famous death scenes from classical painting. Here’s a look.
Goings On
What we’re watching, listening to, and doing this week, online, in N.Y.C., and beyond. Paid subscribers also receive book picks.
Dept. of Medicine
How to Die in Good Health
The average American celebrates just one healthy birthday after the age of sixty-five. Peter Attia argues that it doesn’t have to be this way.
By Dhruv Khullar
Infinite Scroll
The Internet’s New Favorite Philosopher
Byung-Chul Han, in treatises such as “The Burnout Society” and his latest, “The Crisis of Narration,” diagnoses the frenetic aimlessness of the digital age.
By Kyle Chayka
Daily Comment
The Supreme Court Asks What Enron Has to Do with January 6th—and Trump
The former President notwithstanding, the government’s position in Fischer v. United States is unsettling.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
Elements
The Highest Tree House in the Amazon
In 2023, conservationists and carpenters converged on Peru to build luxury accommodations in the rain-forest canopy.
By Allison Keeley