Abstract In this research, the concepts of patient, defect and anomaly are examined, and artists and their works depicting the child body in contemporary art are discussed. The concept of child is defined as an individual in the process of physical and emotional development, who has not yet become an adult. This concept, which has been shaped by the cultural norms and beliefs of societies throughout history, has become a symbolic figure in works of art. The concept of imperfection is mostly defined through sick bodies that do not conform to the ideal. In the study on the representation of the child's body in artworks, the descriptive analysis method was used and a qualitative research method based on qualitative research methodology was followed, utilizing a selected sample. In this study, the representations of the child body as sick, defective and anomalous in art are examined and how such bodies are handled by artists is investigated. This study has an important place in the field due to the limited number of studies on the concepts of the child body in art as a result of the literature review. The research is limited to depictions of the child body reflecting illness, defect and anomaly, and is analyzed through examples selected from the artist productions determined by tracing the concepts. The examples in the study were selected to reflect the different approaches of artists to the use of the child body in the history of art in line with the concepts in question, and an analysis was made on five works within the scope of contemporary art.

anomaly, anti-aesthetic, monster, grotesque, Childism