Foundlings

“Solo”, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland, 7 – 31 August 2014

The German word Findling means both a foundling child and a boulder transported glacially during the last Ice Age. The main narrative theme of these sculptures of natural stone depicting children is the experience of being abandoned. On the one hand, the works can be seen as monuments to children unaware of their roots, while on the other hand they are reminder of a practice that continues even at present – of abandoning unwanted children, often girls, leaving them to be found, or to die.

The new sculptures of the Foundling series differ from the earlier pieces as the notion of migration is more present here. The materiality of the boulders, the forms and colours, the haptic and the visual of the stone sculptures invite to reflections on migration and (inter)racial questions. The new pieces, inspired by African and African American culture and commenting on the white washed understanding of history, can be interpreted as reminders of black people experiencing racism and adopting black babies, as described in literature, for example in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah (2013).

See also Foundlings I and Nameless Foundlings

Further information: Axel Pairon gallery and Galerie Anhava