Father and Son Reunited
3D work based on The Prodigal Son. Our entry for the Spirited Arts 'Life is Sacred' category
Pupils from Year 9, Little Heath Special School, Redbridge

We are a secondary special school for children with general learning difficulties and complex needs. Eight pieces are entered but every child’s work was stunning.  Before hearing the parable, the children openly shared their stories of what they had lost in life. One boy talked movingly of his nan who had Alzheimer’s Disease and who had lost her memories of the family. Another remembered a brother who had gone away, others spoke about pets that had died. A few tears were shed, at these moving recollections.

We looked at sculptures and artwork based on the parable, searching for the visual clues within them and trying to guess what story they were telling. We copied the gestures in the paintings and shared what they made us feel.  After this intense preparation pupils heard the parable and it jumped into clarity for them.

When we made the sculptures, showing the moment of reconciliation between father and son, every child produced something extraordinary. The children with autism, who usually find difficulties with physical contact and in interpreting gestures, were able to produce models that resonated with love, warmth and forgiveness. 

It was hard for most pupils to understand the religious metaphor within the story and who the Father represented. A few understood the symbolism and one called his model ‘Jesus’. Their work expressed such spirituality in human relationships that this became the message.

I wanted to varnish the pupils’ sculptures and display them but the clay was too dry. Most of their sculptures crumbled away. We ended as we began, considering how to deal with the loss of something special. The memories and images remain: some pure and uplifting work that made us all gasp with its beauty.