Love, Loss & Survival
Commissioned by the Foundling Museum in London, British artist Jodie Carey has created three new site-specific installations in response to the Foundling Hospital's unique story as the UK's first ever children's charity. Opening at the end of May, Carey's solo show, Sea, is displayed within the gallery space amongst the organisation's historic collection, and these monumental artworks are imbued with a sense of remembrance and emotional trace.
Drawing inspiration from the 18th century fabric tokens left by mothers with their babies as a means of identification – one of the few tangible connections between mother and child – the exhibition is formed of hundreds of swatches of fabric that have been dipped in liquid clay, and fired. These delicate ceramic fragments cover the exhibition gallery floor. Upstairs, two monumental works cast in the earth explore ideas of memory and time. 18 life-size plaster sculptures crowd the Anteroom, while in the Foyer a delicate and slender bronze sculpture stands floor to ceiling.
Carey’s abstract and organic works seek to make visible the fragility of life and human relationships, to acknowledge the absence of the thousands of children who passed through the Foundling Hospital, and to reflect on the elemental drives at the heart of its story; love, loss, and survival.
Sea, 25 May - 2 Sep 2018
The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ