- The artwork, named โThe Strength of the Hijabโ, celebrates Muslim women.
- The sculpture was inspired by Muslim women who felt under-represented and took six months to create.
Celebrating Muslim women, artist Like Perry has constructed an incredible 16ft steel sculpture of a hijabi woman in the Black Country, in England Midlands.
The artwork, named โThe Strength of the Hijabโ, depicts a Muslim woman wearing a hijab with the words โit is a womanโs right to be loved and respected whatever she chooses to wearโ inscribed across its base.
The artist said the inspiration for his piece came from speaking to Muslim women in the area who felt โunder-representedโ.
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โIโm really pleased with how itโs turned out. But the most important thing is the feedback we get โ which so far has been great,โ he told Birmingham Mail.
โThe idea for the piece came from speaking to Muslim women who I work with at Community Connect Foundation. I asked them what artwork they would like to see, and they talked about how they have no representation; nothing that looked like them.โ
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Perry said the artwork will provide โvisibilityโ for Muslim women and show they too are โpowerful, beautiful and strong.โ
โThey want to be able to show their children things in an environment which makes them feel connected and important and gives them pride. Not just an endless history of rich white men.
โItโs nice to represent the times. Itโs about making people feel like they belong somewhere. In my artwork, I like to convey themes of โhomeโ and having pride in the community.โ
The stunning art piece, which took six months of work so far, was approved by Sandwell planners in August.
It will be moved to its permanent home near Brasshouse Lane, Smethwick, later this year.