Harma Heikens

"The recent work produced by sculptress Harma Heikens shows life-size orphaned children, smeared with dirt and scantily clad in rags. They are busily engaged with money, food and clothing. Their cartoon-like clothing and expressive glances make them appear like a cross between porcelain Hummel figurines and personages from the Manga comic strips. Heikens uses culturally determined symbols wherein the representation of the child can be seen as a metaphor for the near future. Working within the playful idiom of popular culture and making use of techniques of temptation derived from the advertising world, she calls forth visions of a befouled world terrorised by economic and sexual exploitation." (via)