Installation view of Trumpet Boy by Yinka Shonibare MBE, 2010 © Yinka Shonibare MBE. Photograph by Dan Weill Photography

Trumpet Boy is a sculpture of a child dressed in a Victorian suit made out of African textiles, and holding a trumpet the artist found on a trip to Portobello Marke in London many years ago. The sculpture is a metaphor for the universal nature of music and how it crosses all social boundaries: the head lists significant musicians from all corners of the globe. The figure of the child represents the non-prejudicial exuberance of childhood innocence. Trumpet Boy was exhibited at the Foundling Museum in 2016 as part of FOUND, the critically-acclaimed exhibition curated by Cornelia Parker, and speaks to the education and training Foundling Hospital children received. The Museum purchased the work in 2017.