‘This is going to be our Angel of the North’: Leeds unveils Yinka Shonibare sculpture

Hibiscus Rising, commissioned in memory of David Oluwale, a victim of police racism, was unveiled on Friday as part of Leeds 2023. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Guardian

Set against a grey-blue sky, surrounded by archetypal red-brick buildings is one of the most striking public artworks of recent years.

A brightly coloured exotic flower decorated with batik – Indonesian fabric designs popular across west Africa – bursts from the ground in a small, quiet park in the south bank of Leeds city centre.