Superman was a Foundling tea towel - Lemn Sissay

Tea towel made in collaboration with author, broadcaster and poet, Lemn Sissay OBE.

Award-winning poet, playwright and 2014 Foundling Fellow, Lemn Sissay OBE, created Superman was a Foundling, a poem printed on the walls of the Museum’s Study Studio.

Superman was a Foundling is a striking installation, exploring the powerful role of orphaned, fostered and adopted children in our culture. Sissay, who experienced growing up in care, describes the project as addressing the disparity between our admiration for fictional characters and a widespread disregard for their real-life counterparts:

“Superman was a Foundling upraises the fictional stars of popular and classic culture who are fostered, adopted or orphaned. They range from Romulus and Remus of Rome’s foundation myth, to Lisbeth Salander of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Their adventures have enriched our lives, but we do not recognise the connection between the fictional characters and the fostered, adopted and orphaned children in our midst."

The tea towel bears a detail of the installation at the Foundling Museum. 

Designed and decorated in the UK.