1994

A child at an ANC rally in South Africa peers from behind a sign bearing the image of their President Nelson Mandela, April 1994.

Rather than dramatizing motion like in so many of his other pieces, here Stoddart manages to articulate and contextualize the significance of the motion, with a young South African child looking out from behind a photograph of Nelson Mandela. The image embodies the importance and the necessity of Mandela’s dismantling of segregation, presenting the viewer with feelings of fondness and protection for the youth. Institutionalized racism and those who combat it feature heavily in the themes of Humanity, as the psychology of human-imposed division arises from the neglect of truth: that we are all human and we are all worthy of the same respect.