Combining new and existing work with found objects kept for their significance, this major exhibition unfolded throughout the Museum, interacting with historic works in the Collection and with each other. Parker’s inspiration was in part taken from the Museum’s eighteenth-century tokens – small objects left by mothers with their babies as a means of identification should they ever return to the Foundling Hospital to claim their child.
Artists participating in FOUND included: Ron Arad RA, Phyllida Barlow RA, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Deacon RA, Tacita Dean RA, Jeremy Deller, Edmund de Waal, Brian Eno, Antony Gormley RA, Mona Hatoum, Thomas Heatherwick RA, Christian Marclay, Mike Nelson, Laure Prouvost, David Shrigley, Bob and Roberta Smith RA, Wolfgang Tillmans RA, Marina Warner, Gillian Wearing RA and Rachel Whiteread. Twenty-two Royal Academicians contributed to the show, echoing the role that the Foundling Hospital played in the development of the Royal Academy. Founded in 1739 to care for babies at risk of abandonment, the Foundling Hospital was supported by the leading artists of the day, many of whom donated work, thanks to the revolutionary involvement of the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel. The Royal Academy’s origins can be traced to the collective mobilisation of artists and the promotion of British art that took place at the Hospital during the eighteenth century.
Cornelia Parker created a limited-edition print especially for this exhibition, available to purchase from the Museum Shop.
★ ★ ★ ★ A magical exhibition
Cornelia Parker's new show is a treasure trove of finds chanced upon by everyone from Jarvis Cocker to Marina Warner
An extraordinary show that feeds on deep strands of feeling with wit and warmth
★ ★ ★ ★ A perfect theme for an exhibition set in the Foundling Museum
From the basement to the top floor of the museum there are visual surprises and thought-provoking works
Kindly supported by the FOUND Exhibition Supporters' Circle and the following organisations:
