Difference between revisions of "A Real Birmingham Family"

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'''''A Real Birmingham Family''''' is a public artwork and sculpture by Gillian Wearing, cast in bronze, and erected in Centenary Square, outside the Library of Birmingham, England, on 30 October 2014.<ref>http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/library-birmingham-statue-unveiling-two-8024136</ref>
 
'''''A Real Birmingham Family''''' is a public artwork and sculpture by Gillian Wearing, cast in bronze, and erected in Centenary Square, outside the Library of Birmingham, England, on 30 October 2014.<ref>http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/library-birmingham-statue-unveiling-two-8024136</ref>
   
It depicts two local sisters, each single mothers called Roma and Emma Jones, with their two children; Roma's son Kyan and Emma's son Shaye. Emma is depicted as pregnant with a second son, Isaac, who was born before the sculpture was unveiled.<ref>http://birminghamnewsroom.com/2014/10/a-real-birmingham-family/</ref> A small plaque laid on the ground in front of the work describes it.
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It depicts two local sisters, each a single mother, with their two children. One of the mothers is depicted as pregnant with a second son, Isaac, who was born before the sculpture was unveiled.<ref>http://birminghamnewsroom.com/2014/10/a-real-birmingham-family/</ref> A small plaque laid on the ground in front of the work describes it.
   
 
In a process begun in 2011, and coordinated by the city's Ikon Gallery, nominations for a ''real'' local family to model for the sculpture were invited. The Jones' were selected from a shortlist, by an independent panel, in August 2013.<ref>http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/meet-joneses---real-birmingham-5794999</ref>
 
In a process begun in 2011, and coordinated by the city's Ikon Gallery, nominations for a ''real'' local family to model for the sculpture were invited. The Jones' were selected from a shortlist, by an independent panel, in August 2013.<ref>http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/meet-joneses---real-birmingham-5794999</ref>

Revision as of 04:57, 1 January 2022

A Real Birmingham Family is a public artwork and sculpture by Gillian Wearing, cast in bronze, and erected in Centenary Square, outside the Library of Birmingham, England, on 30 October 2014.[1]

It depicts two local sisters, each a single mother, with their two children. One of the mothers is depicted as pregnant with a second son, Isaac, who was born before the sculpture was unveiled.[2] A small plaque laid on the ground in front of the work describes it.

In a process begun in 2011, and coordinated by the city's Ikon Gallery, nominations for a real local family to model for the sculpture were invited. The Jones' were selected from a shortlist, by an independent panel, in August 2013.[3]

Wearing said:

'I really liked how Roma and Emma Jones spoke of their closeness as sisters and how they supported each other. It seemed a very strong bond, one of friendship and family, and the sculpture puts across that connectedness between them. A nuclear family is one reality but it is one of many and this work celebrates the idea that what constitutes a family should not be fixed. [4]

The £100,000 cost of the work was covered by a combination of public money and private donations. The casting was carried out in China. The project follows Wearing's 2008 work, A Typical Trentino Family.

In November 2014 shortly after being unveiled, New Fathers 4 Justice activist Bobby Smith covered the statue with a white sheet and pictures of his two daughters. Smith commented:

"They’ve depicted the normal family with no fathers... I believe kids are always better off with both parents in their lives." [5] [6]

The statue went into storage in May 2017, to allow work for the redevelopment of Centenary Square to begin.[7]