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Pregnancy Statues as Home Decor? These Women Say the Trend is Bumping
Pregnancy mementos take myriad forms. There are framed ultrasound triptychs, the evolving selfie-bump series; the family photo session where an older child inevitably smooches their mother’s exposed bump. And while these sweet keepsakes are beautiful and cherished, they are also decidedly on the nose.
Cut to a rising trend reimagining these commemorative items as personalized statuary: 3D-rendered pregnancy statues that capture the moment in time, but also function as objets d’art. It’s far from without precedent. People have been carving pregnant-goddess figurines since the Stone Age, and depictions of pregnancy are a recurrent theme across art history. More recent editions include a bronze by Edgar Degas, Picasso’s Pregnant Woman, and Daniel Edwards’s controversial, life-size depiction of Britney Spears giving birth. The subject matter is, shall we say, fertile.
So when Mads Montagu-Andrews was pregnant with her first daughter, she participated in a public-art project that left her with a lovely line drawing of her expecting body. With her second child, she planned to create something like it but in another medium; that search led her to bronze casting, which turned out to be prohibitively expensive. But it seeded the idea that became Studio Bust.
“I really wanted to capture my naked body, but I wanted it to be discreet,” explains Montagu-Andrews. The statuettes her company fabricates can be easily tucked away, but left out in the open, they function decoratively. Made from a biodegradable plastic and available in a variety of finishes that include lacquer, bronze, and a stone-like lyme, these armless, headless pieces—which start at $850 and can exceed $5,500 for solid bronze—recall masterworks like the Aphrodite of Cyrene. Except in this case, you’re the Greek goddess.
For women who believe their pregnant bodies are works of art—why not? “I really loved the idea of having some way of remembering my pregnant body, but I knew I would never feel comfortable doing any kind of photoshoot,” explains Isabelle, who commissioned a statue from Studio Bust (and asked that her last name not be used). “I was reminded of the way sculptures of other women’s bodies in museums have helped me appreciate humanity’s infinite shapes.”
In the background of designer Joyce Sitterly’s home library in London, a cast of a pregnant torso takes up residence on a bookshelf.Michael Sinclair
