The direct inspiration for the work was a photo found in a magazine of a starving African family on a journey. Wishing to reconstruct the scene of unhoming, the artist created a multi-element tableau of found objects: dishes, place settings and tiny knick-knacks, plus handmade mannequins made of wool and old fabric. Wilkes presents the figures in a vanitas scene, lying disorderly on the ground or standing, in grief, with their heads hung.
Cathy Wilkes, Untitled, mixed media, 2014
