Cultural Life: Yinka Shonibare, artist

The artist talks us through his cultural favourites

Yinka Shonibare at a press conference to announce that he was a joint winner in the fourth plinth for the Trafalgar Square commission, at city Hall in central London

Visual Arts

Where do I start? I recently went to the Hayward Gallery's show, Invisible: Art About the Unseen 1957-2012. I think it's a good show about invisible art. I also enjoyed Yayoi Kusama's exhibition at the Tate Modern. I like the fact that she's completely dotty; she's crazy! I like the colours, and there's a room with mirrors that go on to infinity – it's just amazing. I also really like her persona as an artist.

Books

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, about the experience of a deaf guy, is compellingly written. Other than that I've been reading books about Hong Kong. I'm doing a project there, so it's more research-based.

Film

The Monk, directed by Dominik Moll, is a very beautiful thriller. It has a complicated plot, but it's very well shot: it's visually very strong. I also very much enjoyed is Roman Polanski's Carnage.

Theatre and Opera

A piece of theatre that blew my mind was Ragtime at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park. It's a musical directed by Timothy Sheader and set in the American south. I occasionally go to the opera. I tend to like the sentimental ones and the weepy ones, unfortunately.

Yinka Shonibare curates Deloitte Ignite's Africa Weekend' at the Royal Opera House, London WC2 (www.roh.org.uk) 31 August to 2 September