Michele Silk – ‘Scars of a Nation’

Artist: Michele Silk

Title: ‘Scars of a Nation’

Medium: Limited Edition Bronze Sculpture on Cement base

(Limited Edition Bronze Sculpture 2 of 10)

Size: 35 cm (H) x 9 cm (W) x 6 cm (D) – excluding base. 

Status: Available

Artist Statement:

This sculpture consists of a small bronze figure of a child standing naked and vulnerable protecting himself with the semblance of a blanket that insufficiently provides warmth and protection. His face is deformed by a scar caused by some catastrophic impact that questions his circumstances.

The child holds close a copper wire ‘blanket’, normally associated with care, provision and protection but the blanket is dysfunctional and the child is clearly vulnerable. In essence his presence signifies the demise of many young children and orphans affected by human tragedy and poverty, who frequently resort to living on the streets in urban cities for survival.

The concrete base has an urban association particularly with street children and the homeless and the corrugated tin impressions allude to shack dwellings and temporary living.

As a whole this sculpture represents the demise of street children and highlights the human condition and difficulties many children face in parts of Africa and specifically Durban where I once lived.