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Hi my name is Corinne Lambert and I am a sculptor based in Leicestershire. In early July 2024 I was commissioned to create a sculpture to commemorate Elizabeth Heyrick.
This turned out to be a very enjoyable piece of work. I was initially contacted by Findmypast (the UK based online genealogy service). Findmypast were looking for an artist to create a small, indoor sculpture to interpret and commemorate a historical figure they were celebrating in August 2024. My details had been found through my membership of the Leicester Society of Artists, details and photos of my work are on my Leicester Society of Artists page Corinne Lambert .
Findmypast had found that women represent 70% of all the "unknown" people in genealogical family trees, so they did some further research and chose five women to celebrate, whose stories had been largely lost to time. There was an online vote to choose one woman to be commemorated in a piece of artwork, Leicester born abolitionist Elizabeth Heyrick won the vote.
When I was contacted for the commission, my first response was to mention that I am not normally a "portrait" artist, but they explained they wanted a piece of sculpture to emphasise the spirit and determination of Elizabeth Heyrick, not an exact likeness. I then did some research on Elizabeth Heyrick which was fascinating. I noted there were few portrait images of Elizabeth, so the sculpture representing her spirit seemed a more suitable approach. I started to make rough sketches of a female form in a determined pose and began to consider how I could create it in sculpture.
As the timescale for the commission was short, I had to decide which materials I could use to have it complete, painted and dried ready for the presentation w/c 12th August 2024. At the moment I work in plaster and wire, sometimes just in wire, I decided to use wire for a lighter and cleaner shape to the form. I made a small maquette model about two thirds the size of the proposed finished work. The wire soon began to lend itself to the shape of the figure's clothes and bonnet. I could experiment on this model, moving the arms into different poses. I also added the chains to represent the bonds of slavery that Elizabeth aimed to break, and tried different ways of attaching the chains to the figure.
As I was designing the maquette I had to bear in mind that there would be a presentation of this piece, and it would have to be strong enough, and light enough to be moved around and photographed. After a few weeks working up the maquette I had to start the final sculpture. I centered the form on its wooden base and hammered the support wire down, then I started to build up the figure based on the maquette but with more detail. I weaved the wire into the form, the dress and bonnet flowing down from the hands and chains. The slight turn of the body and the loose moving chains gave the pose animation. I felt this was important as I had read that Elizabeth Heyrick was a determined and intense activist and I was trying to reflect her character in the sculpture.
I went back to the maquette to experiment with colouring the final piece. I decided to use spray paints to merge over the shape of the sculpture. The colours I chose to use on the sculpture represent the red-orange earth, the green landscapes, the blue sea and hot yellow sun of West Africa, from where many people were taken and sold into slavery. The intermingling red colour represents the suffering of these people. I titled my sculpture "Abolition (remembering Elizabeth Heyrick) ".
Findmypast presented my sculpture to the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery for their permanent collection, which I was very pleased about, as I have visited the Museum many times and enjoyed seeing the collection there. On the day of the presentation it was very bright and sunny so we held the presentation outside the front of the Museum on New Walk. There were photographs taken, and everyone seemed pleased with the sculpture which was great. I hope the sculpture can be displayed in the future to commemorate Elizabeth Heyrick's activism.
