• Medium:
  Bronze

Jeremiah 1:4-8

The word of Yaweh came to me, saying
Before I formed you in the womb
I knew you:
Before you came to birth
I consecrated you:
I appointed you
To be a prophet to the nations.

I then said, “Ah, ah, ah, Lord Yaweh:
You see I do not know how to speak:
I am  only a child!”

But Yaweh replied,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a child,’
for you must go to all to whom I send you and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of confronting with them, for I am with you to rescue you,” Yaweh declares.

Then Yaweh stretched out his hand and touched my mouth and then said to me:
“There I have put my words into your mouth.
Look, today I have set you over the kingdoms, to uproot and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

My choice was to compose the body of the fetus with a multitude of faces, actually molded from students. The wax was then cut forming linear drawings with the cast images.

The fetus researched is 17 weeks, representing a developed yet fragile form in an upright position, before its rotation into birthing position. All the faces composing the body have opened mouths, reflective of the response to the prophetic command. Those who have seen life viewed with open eyes. The fetus alone has not beheld life. Thus its eyes are closed.

Conceptually, the faces represent all the hopes visualized by those supporting the life in the womb. Each personality is perceived in the unborn. A parallel reflection embodied in the faces is the genetic legacy imparted to the child at conception. All who have gone before the father and mother give life and heritage to this child.