Jacob’s Baby, Helena Wadsley
Jacob’s Baby is a large sculpture based on a diagram by 16th century physician Jacob Rueff. He created many diagrams of the stages of pregnancy to teach midwives. They tend to have a very decorative style. The sculpture contains a uterus with a fetus as well as other organs. The entire piece is made from white and cream coloured scrap fabrics, including some lace, satin, and embroidery.
Title: Jacob’s Baby
Artist: Helena Wadsley
Date: 2021
Medium/Materials: Sewn sculpture in fabric scraps
Dimensions: 200 cm x 122 cm
Form/Genre: Fibre sculpture
Key Terms/Subject/Tags: Gender; Anatomy; Reproductive system
Artist Statement:
From the moment we are born, women have been conditioned for motherhood. It remains a common question to ask, never if, but when you will have children. While it seemed to be a woman’s most important task in life, to give birth, the female reproductive system has been inadequately studied, many female-related ailments have been dismissed, while others, such as hysteria, for example, have been invented.
Forceps were invented in the early 17th century by two French Huguenot doctors who made a business out of childbirth, keeping the tool a secret so they could monopolize childbirth where intervention was necessary. A basiotribe, a 19th-century invention, was a tool for removing a dead fetus--a violently intrusive tool used on a woman already suffering.
Cultural Context / Story Behind the Work:
This is part of Helena Wadsley’s ongoing series about attitudes through history about female reproduction and how the prejudices affect how women are treated in medicine today.
Rights for this Image:
This digital image is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. You are free to share it for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit the artist.
Learn More:
Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky: @helenawadsley