I saw the following statue in Ilfracombe, Devon the last time I was in England, and while fascinated by it, I thought it was a strange type of statue for a harbour front. As I was taking my photos I looked for a plaque so I could find out exactly what it was all about, but unfortunately there wasn’t one.
She is called Verity and was created by a fairly well-known English sculptor, Damien Hirst. She stands 66 ft. tall and represents truth and justice, hence she would have been more at home at the Old Bailey or in front of some municipal building.
She is naked, pregnant and half skinned, for want of a nicer expression, holding scales and a sword. You cannot see the full view of her “skinless” side in my photos, but perhaps that’s just as well. The locals definitely have mixed feelings about her and the Guardian newspaper referred to her as a bit “Hannibal Lecter-ish”. I have to say I agree.
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Damien Hirst’s 66ft fertility statue, Verity, is hoisted into place in Ilfracombe
