British artist Maggi Hambling has been chosen to create a sculpture of feminist icon Mary Wollstonecraft on Newington Green.
The Mary on the Green group, which has been campaigning for a statue to Wollstonecraft for years, chose Hambling over sculptor Martin Jennings.
Hambling said: “I’m really excited at the prospect of realising my idea. I hope the piece will act as a metaphor for the challenges women continue to face as we confront the world.”
Wollstonecraft, who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, was a key figure in a group of radical thinkers in Newington Green in the 18th century, and also ran a school there.
Hambling was chosen ahead of sculptor Martin Jennings. The work will show a woman emerging from organic matter, featuring Wollstonecraft’s words: “I do not wish women to have power over men but over themselves.”
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