Long sold out and appearing at auction for the first time, World #1 is the work that led Ruud van Empel to focus on black children as his long-term subject and set off his seminal World series. Presented in a white Sunday-best dress that van Empel remembers from his childhood, a young black girl – portrayed as a symbol of purity and innocence – is surrounded by a fantastical forest. ‘To me, both nature and the innocence of children are something beautiful,’ expresses van Empel. ‘Children are born innocent into a cruel and dangerous world. I wanted to do something with that idea.’