Sir Grayson Perry C.B.E. R.A. (British b.1960)

Sir Grayson Perry C.B.E. R.A. (British b.1960)
Alien Baby
2018
golden glazed ceramic
with artists impressed stamps to underside
numbered 9 from the series of 12 unique variants
26 x 17 x 7cm
ARR

Provenance: Sworders, Modern British and 20th Century Art, Lot 341 10 June 2020
gifted by the artist to Abbie and Laura who featured in Rites of Passage

Note: Sir Grayson Perry created Alien Baby in response to stories he encountered while making his documentary series Rites of Passage. In the series, Perry explored significant life milestones; Death, Marriage, Birth, and Coming of Age, traveling across the world to compare their meaning and rituals with those of British culture.
In Episode Three, which focused on Birth, Perry followed staff and couples at Broomfield Hospital's Neonatal Unit, featuring a couple whose premature baby spent 100 days in neonatal intensive care. He was deeply moved by the serene, almost spiritual dedication of the nursing teams who nurtured fragile lives into the world. Perry likened the neonatal ward to a spaceship, with nurses operating advanced medical technology amid the gentle but alien beeps and lights of monitors and support equipment. He described the experience:

“It feels otherworldly, like we are on board a spaceship drifting through inner space on our way to the time when they [the babies] should have come.”

This sculpture, part of a series of twelve, honours the NHS not only as a pillar of British society, but also as a symbol of the humanity, skill, and material care of neonatal nurses. Each sculpture in the series was gifted to the neonatal staff at Broomfield Hospital, as well as to the parents of the children featured in the programme.