Final touches to world's first sculpture of a woman wearing a hijab in Birmingham
A new sculpture of a woman wearing a Hijab, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, will be unveiled in Birmingham next month.
'The Strength of the Hijab' was designed by renowned artist Luke Perry to celebrate women who wear the headscarf.
Commissioned by the Legacy West Midlands charity, it is believed to be the first sculpture in the world of a woman wearing the head covering, worn by many Muslim women.
The steel sculpture is five metres tall, weighs around a tonne and is due to be installed in Smethwick in October.
Mr Perry said: “The Strength of the Hijab is a piece which represents women who wear hijabs of the Islamic faith, and it’s really there because it’s such an underrepresented part of our community, but such an important one.
"They need visibility, it’s so important, so working with the community to come up with the designs has been really exciting because we didn’t know what it was going to look like until now.“
"The location of where it’s going is Smethwick, [where] there’s a humongous part of the community that is from the Islamic faith.“
"They wear the hijab as part of their community, and it is really underrepresented.“
Mr Perry was helped to design the 'Black British History is British History' sculpture, which was installed in Winson Green in May.
That piece was defaced shortly after it was installed, but while Mr Perry acknowledged the new sculpture could be “controversial”, he said it was important to represent everyone who lives in the UK.
He said: “There’s a possibility that this piece could be controversial for many different reasons.
"I don’t feel like any of them are valid, but people do, there are a lot of people who object to the differences that we have in our communities, and would like them to be more divided."
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…