Alison Lapper.com

Welcome to my home page. This is my new website and it’s the place where I’ll be adding information about upcoming events in my life as an artist and author. In case you missed it I should tell you that Marc Quinn’s statue of me _ Alison Lapper Pregnant – was unveiled in Trafalgar Square on the 15th of September. In spite of the pouring rain the Square was packed with journalists and TV cameras and I found myself whisked from one interview to another. I began the day on breakfast televison at 7 am and finished on Newsnight review at 11.30. It was quite a day!

I know a lot of the media interest was sparked by the controversy over the statue. Should there be a statue of a naked pregnant disabled woman in Trafalgar Square? Surely it wouldn’t fit in. The Square is such a traditional place. But I always thought it was exactly the right place for a statue like this. It makes a powerful statement about where we are trying to go in the 21st century – a future with truly equal opportunities for all.

Just as important to me is the fact that the statue is transcendingly beautiful and suits its place in the Square. I have watched people gazing at it for some minutes at a time and I can see that they are moved by it. Not simply experiencing sympathy for the disability it represents but something beyond that. I think they appreciate it’s beauty as a work of art and are surprised to find themselves liking it, and realising that it works in the Square so well.

If you haven’t been to see it I recommend that you do. It isn’t the same in photographs or on television.

This month my autobiography, My Life in My Hands was published by Simon & Schuster. You can find it in all the major bookshops or you can go to Amazon’s website on the net and order it there. It has been an emotional nine months writing the book. It brought up a lot of painful memories from my childhood as well as new and shocking facts about my life which I had been completely unaware of. I’m glad it’s out there now. I have been as truthful as the publishers would allow and feel relieved that I no longer have to be tight-lipped about the areas of my life I always wanted to keep hidden. I still don’t like talking about some things but at least it’s in the book if people want to know what it was like for me when I was growing up. There’s an extract from the book on my autobiography page.

Since the book came out and the statue went up I have been asked to appear at conferences and a list of those can be found on my events page. The one I’m really looking forward to is being on BBC2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon. I have been enjoying his programme for so many years now and it’s great to be invited on to chat with him. I’m not sure which day they’ll be broadcasting my appearance so you’ll just have to listen every day.

I will also be exhibiting some of my work with artists like Tracey Emin, Marcia Farquhar and Anat Ben-David at Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women exhibition. Details of dates and venues of upcoming exhibitions will all be on my events page as they are confirmed.

I have been working on a new body of work and some of my early ideas can be found on my gallery page. If you want to buy any of my pieces they are for sale in limited editions at Eyestorm/Britart.