Absent from the artistic work of east African pastoralists is almost any representation of humans or animals. Most artwork from the region is abstract and geometric, characterized either by detailed two-dimensional design in vibrant color or by stark monochromatic forms. The exceptions to this rule are objects made by or associated with children. Indeed, this array of non-naturalistic Turkana dolls represents the extent of the region’s figural representation. Fertility dolls, such as those displayed on your right, would have been carried by young women as a way to stimulate fertility and prompt conception while the contemporary clay dolls on your left represent a long-standing tradition of children’s artistic creativity. Taken together, these figures speak to the abstract impulse that characterizes art from this region. While scholars are still seeking to tease out the connections between abstraction and mobility, it is worth noting that children, who in their young lives have moved far fewer times than their elders, were more likely to create artworks that approach naturalistic figuration.