A New Arrival

by Michael R Hayter · Bristol, GB

This piece came about as a result of musing on the subject of birth - both physical and symbolic or spiritual birth. As a veterinarian I used to attend calvings where a cow was unable to give birth without some veterinary assistance and this primal event always filled me with awe and a profound sense of connection with life. In this piece I have tried to recreate this primitive sense of joy and expectation in the waiting children, ready to catch the newborn as it comes into the world. The newborn, however, emerges as if from hiding and scrutinises the world through one piercing blue eye. I view this image as one of mixed celebration - the expectant children, naked and with outstretched arms, bear the skin lesions of eczema - evidence of the stresses they are already experiencing outside the protective and nurturing environment of the womb. They know that once you are outside, you can never go back. The scene, though mixed with pathos, is one of joy.