This October, London will witness a cultural first: the unveiling of a public statue that honours the raw, unfiltered reality of motherhood
Mother Vérité – a seven-foot bronze by British artist Rayvenn Shaleigha D’Clark and Frida founder Chelsea Hirschhorn – will debut outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital. The placement is deliberate: a striking counterpoint to the polished royal birth announcements long tied to the site. Instead of presenting a picture-perfect moment, the piece spotlights the raw realities of postpartum life rarely acknowledged in public art.
The following day, the statue will move to Portman Square, where it will remain on semi-permanent display for public viewing during Frieze London Art Fair.
Globally, women remain drastically underrepresented in monuments. In London, only 4% of statues depict women, and fewer still represent them as mothers. Childbirth and the postpartum journey, despite being one of life’s most universal experiences, has been erased from culture, censored in the media, and ignored in public spaces.
Mother Vérité challenges that invisibility. Standing tall and unapologetic, the bronze figure depicts a mother holding her newborn. Every detail has been captured with striking honesty: veiny, uneven breasts, cracked nipples, enlarged areolas, and postpartum curves visible beneath a pair of Frida’s iconic disposable underwear. Her hair, tied up in a lived-in bun, speaks to both fatigue and pride. What might once have been dismissed as flaws are instead presented as powerful testaments to resilience and creation.
D’Clark, a self-taught digital sculptor, interviewed and scanned a diverse group of postpartum women with different body types and experiences. Using a pioneering combination of live casting and 3D rendering, she captured their realities with hyper-detailed accuracy before translating them into bronze. The result blends ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create a work that is both contemporary and timeless.
“Motherhood is at once everyday and extraordinary,” D’Clark said. “By honouring the postpartum body, we’re recognising the courage of women everywhere.”
For Hirschhorn, a mother of four, the commission continues Frida’s mission to break taboos around maternal health. The company has long challenged restrictions on how postpartum realities are represented in the media, facing ad bans and censorship for showing bleeding, scarring, and breastfeeding. With Mother Vérité, Hirschhorn explained, the aim is to go further: “This is about putting mothers on the pedestal they deserve.”
Motherhood is at once everyday and extraordinary. By honouring the postpartum body, we’re recognising the courage of women everywhere
By choosing London – the UK being Frida’s biggest market outside the US, and a city with a storied tradition of monumental sculpture – the creators are also making a global statement. Bronze has historically been reserved for heroes, leaders, and moments of great transformation. Casting a postpartum mother in the same material redefines what deserves public recognition.
For London, Mother Vérité is a cultural first. For mothers, it is long overdue recognition – a permanent reminder that their strength belongs not in the shadows, but at the very centre of public life.
Main Image: Tiny Studios
