The artwork, with the Library of Birmingham (left) and Baskerville House in the background

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 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.[1][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 Joneses were selected from a shortlist, by an independent panel, in August 2013.[2][3]

Wearing said:[4]

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.

The £100,000 cost of the work was covered by a combination of public money and private donations.[1] The casting was carried out in China.[1] The project follows Wearing's 2008 work, A Typical Trentino Family.[2]

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]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Tyler, Jane (30 October 2014). "Library of Birmingham statue unveiling: Two mums immortalised in 'ordinary' family sculpture". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 K., Sarah (30 October 2014). "A Real Birmingham Family". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. ↑ Authi, Jasbir (28 August 2013). "Meet the Joneses - the real Birmingham family of two single mums and sons chosen for library statue". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "A Real Birmingham Family". Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Hallam, Katie (1 November 2014). "Library of Birmingham statue attacked by New Fathers For Justice protester". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Lyndon, Neil (3 November 2014). "Is Gillian Wearing's family sculpture offensive to fathers?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Controversial family statue removed from Centenary Square and put into storage". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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