‘Child of War’ is a major body of work created in response to current global events and Dorman’s experience of working as a war artist across the Middle East and Ukraine. Showcasing Dorman’s latest paintings and installation work alongside artwork by children from around the world, Child of War explores the devastating consequences of conflict from a child’s perspective, as seen and told through their own hands and voices. Child of War premiered at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in 2024, in collaboration with the mental health charity, Beyond Conflict, the Ukrainian Welcome Centre and Narmina Mamedova, Founder of War through Children’s Eyes.

A FRACTURED WORLD

These large-scale collages feature the paintings and drawings from hundreds of children across the world today. These powerful and often harrowing images depict the impact of war on childhood in conflicts ranging from Ukraine to the Middle East and beyond. Together, they are a glavanising study of how war is seen through children’s eyes: the loss of loved ones, friends, home, country and the loss of innocence and beauty. These collages are backlit to evoke a stained glass mosaic.  The collage artwork has been carried out by British digital designer and artist, Andy Bancroft Cooke. adtbc.com

Child of War is a collaborative work by award winning artists, Arabella Dorman and Nick Turner. Nick Turner is a film-maker, artist and activist who has spent more than twenty years campaigning for the rights of street children around the world, often in places impacted by war. This film features some of the artwork and words from more than 370 children who have submitted their work to Arabella Dorman in collaboration with Beyond Conflict and War Through Children’s Eyes. The children's voiceovers are facilitated by the Ukrainian Welcome Centre, London who connected pupils from various schools, including St Mary’s Ukrainian School, to record the words in this short film. This is a film about the impact of war on childhood, told by children themselves. It is about all children in all wars.