Following a visit to Familiars, Sofia Hultén’s Ikon exhibition, a group of pupils from St John’s Ladywood Church of England Primary School spent two days making new work with the artist.
In Familiars, Hultén depicts members of her family at their home in Birmingham, setting up menacing situations intended to unnerve one another. Using a variety of materials which come to hand, such as soft toys, tools and clothing, the protagonists create a series of absurd scenarios before laying in wait for their unsuspecting victims.
The children’s work reflected both the themes within Hultén’s work and its aesthetic and saw children ‘hiding’ under gym mats, crouching under tables and popping out from behind doors. They produced five videos during the project which were shown at Ikon in July 2007.