Broken Childhood

Artist Statement

Broken Childhood

Derik

My piece is a collage on canvas made of found objects from industries commonly using child labor such as a sneaker, a cashew label, a wrapper from a chocolate, a shrimp ring, and an aluminum can.

I was inspired when I heard that many companies like Gucci use child labor to make their handbags and other products. Child labor is used to make the cocoa in your candy bars.

I didn't know that there was so much abuse of child labor in the world until we started this expedition. I was shocked because I thought it ended a long time ago. I learned that about 60 million children who are under 17 years old are involved in global agriculture such as picking cocoa beans, cashews, and tea leaves. I also learned that children as young as 6 are down below the earth while they are digging shafts and scuttling around mounds of rock. They are doing this work with just with a hammer and a chisel. In Ethiopia almost 60% of children work in factories and sweatshops. This is just wrong, and we should protest by not buying their products.

I am trying to show people who want fancy name brands that children are actually being used as slave labor to make these items. The children experience horrible working conditions while making these items. For example, some children as young as six are forced to work in sweatshops and in the fields. I'm hoping that when people see my piece, they will not buy items made by children.