220 x 400cm Hand-cut stencil, spray painted wall.

The Praying Boy is a Hellenistic statue from around 300BC. This statue has been moved all around the world since its excavation from Rhodes in the late 1400s, initially missing its arms and legs. The statute passed through many prominent art collectors, Dukes and Royals over centuries until landing in Berlin in 1958. It has had countless repairs and restorations in that time completely changing the symbolism of the piece, replacing the feet, toes and changing the position of the arms. Human intervention over hundreds of years has converted a statue that was originally thought to represent Apollo, to a boy, praying. In this interpretation the statue is once again interfered with to further the suggestion that the statue is praying by highlighting the hopelessness that often surrounds the act in moments of chaos. The statue is depicted to be shattering from the back as if the white light behind the statue is the cause of the explosion.