“The wild is far from unlimited. It is finite. It needs protecting.” - David Attenborough
In Earth Kids, Yinka Shonibare CBE’s seventh solo exhibition at James Cohan Gallery, the artist makes a connection between the history of colonial domination and humankind’s domination of the natural world and exploitation of its limited resources. The quartet of child-scaled sculptures champion the next generation of environmentalists fighting for climate justice—including young activists, such as Greta Thunberg—who have thrown a spotlight on the failings of previous generations of policy makers. These works, Shonibare states, “are a call to action to protect the planet for our children”.
Each of the four sculptures in Earth Kids represent an elemental force: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These classical elements were believed by the Ancient Greeks to illustrate the complexity of the natural world. The artist has been making work about the elements and climate change since 2008, when he created a series called Globe Children in which children were precariously balanced on a large heat-map globe.