CHILD'S PLAY by Mark Neville [2016] - SIGNED

The Foundling Museum, London, 2016 | Hardcover, 110pp. | 24.5 x 28 cm

Limited first edition copy [700 copies only] inscribed and signed by Mark Neville. Published in conjunction with the exhibition at the Foundling Museum, London, 3 February - 30 April 2017, and the symposium, Space to Play, on 20 March 2017.

Working at the intersection of art and documentary, Neville captures children immersed in free, spontaneous play — from Port Glasgow to North London, and from the war zones of Afghanistan and Ukraine. These images challenge the romantic ideal of play by confronting it with the realities of children’s lives, which are often harsher and more precarious. They reveal how play persists, even in the most unfavourable environments, as an act of resilience and resistance — a way for children to claim safety, power and freedom.

Conceived as both an art project and an intervention, the book casts play as a universal right, echoing the UN’s 2013 General Comment on Article 31 (the Convention on the Rights of the Child). At a time when up to 13 million children have been internally displaced as a result of armed conflict, and traditional public space is being privatised, Child’s Play reinforces our responsibility to ensure that children the world over have full opportunity for play and recreation.

Accompanied by texts from Adrian Voce, a leading voice in children’s play advocacy, and Nicola Freeman, curator at the Foundling Museum.

Very good condition: Unread copy, internally pristine - clean, crisp and tightly bound. Some surface wear to boards, including slight rubbing, bumping and a couple of blemishes.