Rivane Neuenschwander features in 'For Children: Art Stories since 1968'

What motivates artists worldwide to create artworks for children? What does it mean to be a child today? Is childhood a closed chapter or a state of being?

For Children: Art Stories since 1968 invites audiences of all ages to reflect on how childhood shapes us, and what it means to create art with young viewers in mind. Bringing together more than twenty international artists – including Rivane Neuenschwander, Antoine Catala, Ólafur Elíasson, Lygia Pape, Ana Mendieta and Bruce Nauman – the exhibition traces how artists since the late 1960s have explored universal themes such as society, politics, economy, environment, technology, and the future through the lens of childhood.

On display is Rivane Neuenschwander’s The Name of Fear (2015), a participatory project originally commissioned by Whitechapel Gallery. In the first stage of the project, Neuenschwander worked with children aged seven to nine from four schools in London, holding workshops with artist Laura X Carle and the Whitechapel team. The children were asked to try on capes that related to their personal fears, and to explain their reasoning to the artist. By wearing the capes and giving them a performative dimension, Neuenschwander believes that the children could transform their darkest fears into desires, and inherit some level of protection.

Neuenschwander’s surrealistic capes twinkle with magic and charm us with their kitsch and wit. By translating the imaginary thoughts of children into images, as opposed to words, we are better able to understand the new and intuitive relationships that children bring to the world of objects.