In the wake of the furore engulfing it, the charity behind the Elsie Inglis statue has lost the backing of one of its most prominent supporters.
A Statue for Elsie Inglis halted the process of choosing an artist to sculpt the likeness of the prominent doctor in September. Earlier this week an announcement was made, ignoring the rules around the bidding process, and appointing the King’s Sculptor in Ordinary, Sandy Stoddart to the commission.
Now Edinburgh author, Sara Sheridan, has withdrawn her backing.
Ms Sheridan who wrote the book Where are the Women? explains her reasons in a written statement:
“It’s incredible after such a long campaign that we are going to see the first statue to a non-royal woman in central Edinburgh.
“I was excited to be introduced to the work of the contemporary artist who was going to be honoured by winning the cancelled competition. I’m sorry that isn’t going ahead as it negatively impacts the strong community that has built around the campaign and negates the opportunity to add a fresh visual voice to Edinburgh’s built environment.
“For me, raising of a statue to Elsie Inglis was about recognition of her achievements and her values as a suffragist and an early female doctor.
“The cancelling of the competition and the statement yesterday from Mr Stoddart about his view on Elsie has taken off that shine. It is with great sadness that I no longer feel it would be authentic for me to actively campaign for this cause. I would, however, reinstate my support if the trustees can resolve the situation.”
Ms Sheridan’s book is described in this way: “For most of recorded history, women have been sidelined, if not silenced, by men who named the built environment after themselves. Now is the time to look unflinchingly at Scotland’s heritage and bring those women who have been ignored to light.”
The charity has referred to the regulator OSCR for advice and meantime the discussion between artists who had hoped to win the commission continues on a new public Facebook page.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
