Jean-Michel Folon (1 March 1934 – 20 October 2005) was a Belgian artist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor. Folon was born in Uccle, Brussels, Belgiumin 1934 where he studied architecture at the Institut Saint-Luc. In 1955 he settled in the outskirts of Paris. In 1985 he moved to Monaco. In the 1990s, Folon decided to create a foundation in the Solvay Domain, La Hulpe.

The first exhibition of his watercolors was in New York in 1969 in the Lefebre Gallery. One year later he exhibited in Tokyo and in the Il Milione gallery in Milan. He also participated in the XXVth Venice Biennale. In 1973 he joined the selection of Belgian artists in the XXVth São Paulo Biennale, where he was granted the Grand Prize in Painting. Over the years his work concentrated on different techniques, including watercolor, etching, silkscreen, illustrations, mosaics, and stained glass, which showed the diversity of his art. His work Ein Baum stirbt - Un albero muore, 1974, is by Museo Cantonale d’Arte of Lugano. He also designed numerous posters, often for humanitarian causes. Around 1988 he created his first sculptures made out of wood. He then moved on to creating sculptures in clay, plaster, bronze and marble, while continuing to paint.

This sculpture serves as a memorial, made out of bronze and dated 1997. It is located on permanent display in Warandepark in Brussels. The piece is titled 'de Bode' (eng. The Messenger) and serves to commemorate missing children. It depicts a hand with a bird spreading its wings 'as a reminder of the horrors of missing children' (from the plaque).

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.