Homeless Child 3
Artist: Yinka Shonibare (British-Nigerian, born 1962)
Date: 2012
Dimensions:
H: 106 1/16 in.; W: 25 3/16 in.; Depth: 39 1/8 in.
Medium: Mannequin, Dutch wax-printed textile, fiberglass, globe head, steel base plate, leather suitcases
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Gift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society
Object number: 2013.32
Label Text:Born in London to Nigerian parents, Yinka Shonibare explores through parody and irony questions of identity, social hierarchy, and the colonization of Africa. The wax-print fabrics Shonibare uses for many of his works are made with an Indonesian technique, manufactured in England and Holland (and, increasingly, China), and exported to West African nations. For Shonibare, this fabric—wrongly commercialized as African—is a comment on globalization and the meaning of authenticity.
Bent over, struggling to move forward, this Homeless Child of ambiguous race carries
the last of his possessions. His head is a globe inscribed with a passage from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist: “Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the well-housed and fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets at such times, who, let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.”
Despite the Colonial-style costume in wax-print frabric, the figure addresses dislocation and poverty across place and time, as well as resonating with the current global refugee crisis.
Bent over, struggling to move forward, this Homeless Child of ambiguous race carries
the last of his possessions. His head is a globe inscribed with a passage from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist: “Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the well-housed and fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets at such times, who, let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.”
Despite the Colonial-style costume in wax-print frabric, the figure addresses dislocation and poverty across place and time, as well as resonating with the current global refugee crisis.
DescriptionA child dressed in a 19th century costume of Dutch wax printed cotton textile carries 12 brown leather and bookcloth suitcases on his back. The brown leather suitcases appear precariously thrown on top of each other. Each appears ready to fall despite the child’s efforts to maintain the balance on his back. The weight of the suitcases appears to be strenuous not only for the figure’s back but his neck as well. The figure is also dressed with tights that are under the pants and brown ankle boots. The figure’s skin color is tan and has a globe for a head. On the globe is a quote from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
“Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the well-housed and fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets at such times, who, let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.”--Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
“Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the well-housed and fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets at such times, who, let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.”--Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
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