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The Peacock Gallery is hosting a new exhibition by bereaved parents who suffer the loss of a baby entitled Forever In My Heart.

The exhibition is open to the public from the 30 January – 5 February 2013 and is located in the Peacock Gallery, Upton Country Park, Poole. See their website for more information and directions (http://peacockgallery.org.uk/).

The exhibition was the idea of Judy Lancaster-Bowen, a bereaved mother, whose first baby, Tainn, was stillborn in on the 16 July 2008. Judy says: “I would like to hold this exhibition in honour of all the babies we have lost and to let other parents know that they are not alone in their eternal grief for their children, and somehow offer them some strength and solace through the artwork.”

“The only time we got to spend having fun with our baby daughter was when we made her hand and foot prints – painting her perfect little hands and feet with various colours (as any parent would do with their live child). After the long months and years that followed Tainn’s death, I used painting to express the grief and trauma I feel. It was also a time for me to connect with my little girl and spend time with her memory, sadly time I should have spent caring and nurturing her.”

Judy continues her story: “Tainn died a week before she was due in July 2008 and it took me three agonising days to give birth to her. It was the most devastating time in our lives, as I was expecting to go into labour and bring home a beautiful baby. Sadly, that was never to be. We were fortunate in that we were able to spend precious time with our baby girl in the SPRING suite at the St Mary’s Hospital in Poole in their specially designed unit, which encompasses a double bed, so Dad can stay over too, an ensuite and a visitors lounge so that friends and family can visit in private.”

“I am so grateful to the Peacock Gallery for agreeing to host artwork of this nature and to SPRING, the charity who has helped me and so many bereaved parents and relatives at such a devastating time in our lives. I would also like to say a special thank you to the SPRING community for all their support with this project.”

Loosing a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death is a difficult tragedy to deal with and many people do not even want to discuss it, but with so many babies sadly dying each day, we feel hopeful that we have found such a creative way of raising awareness of this issue.

I hope that this exhibition will honour our babies and bring some solace to parents and relatives.

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