Universal Motherhood: A journey through the lottery of birth

About

The exhibition features work by world-renowned female photographers - Sian Davey, Bieke Depoorter, Diana Markosian, Carlota Guerrero and Dana Popa - and a light installation by artist Aphra Shemza. 

The five photographers documented live births from around the globe to create a striking visual collection which captures the raw emotion and intimacy of the first days of motherhood.

Light installation, ‘Seconds Pass’, reflects the fragility of young life, as the rhythmic pulsing of the lights is determined by data on birth and death rates of under-fives around the globe. Four children are born every second. One child dies every six seconds.

Motherhood is universal: healthcare is not. The exhibition highlights why all women should have access to essential healthcare and that no mother should be forced to give birth without a skilled health worker by her side.  In 2016, 30 million women gave birth without a skilled birth attendant and 2.6 million mothers lost their newborn babies – that’s 7,000 newborns every single day and 5 newborns every minute.  The majority of these deaths occur in the world’s poorest nations. But there are also huge inequalities within countries. Even when good quality healthcare is available in cities, only those who can afford to pay can access it. For poor people, especially those living in remote, rural areas, health coverage can be almost non-existent.

The GSK Save the Children Partnership
Save the Children and GSK are calling on all governments around the world to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. No woman should have to give birth without essential health services and no family should face financial hardship as a result.

The exhibition will be open until 7pm on 13, 14, 19, 20 December.

For more information visit the website (here).