Magdalena Abakanowicz used organic materials to form her sculptures, which she then cast in bronze. If you look closely you can see under the heavy modeling that she used burlap to create the hollow human form and wood to create the trunk and wheels. 

Abakanowicz was born in a village outside Warsaw and lived in Poland her whole life. She experienced the political and economic hardships that plagued her country during her lifetime—including Nazi occupation in the 1930s and 1940s and the subsequent Soviet rule. This sculpture can be seen as a statement about what it is like to live under a despotic political system. The headless figure emphasizes the way living under oppression robs a citizen of his or her individuality. However, the figure stands tall and straight—a stance that suggests defiant dignity. Despite anguish and injustice, the sculpture seems to say: Hope remains.

Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930–2017), Figure on Trunk with Wheels—Big. Bronze, 2000. 91 3/4 × 123 × 26 1/4 in. (233 × 312.4 × 66.7 cm). Gift of Marshall Field's, by exchange, 2000.26. On view in the Georgia and David K. Welles Sculpture Garden.

Image Description: A headless male figure made of bronze stands with its hands at its sides on a low rail or tree trunk inserted into two wide wheels, also made of bronze. The figure’s surface is textured with wrinkles that suggest clothing, but there are no lines indicating where garments end and hands or feet begin. The wheels rest atop a low platform made of blocks of gray stone.