Sculpture Information

Jesus encountered a nameless woman with a bit of a reputation. She wept and cleaned his dusty feet with her tears and dried them with her hair (Luke 7:36-50): Notice the foot of Jesus beneath her hair. Unfettered hair was seen as shocking, in a similar way to how nudity is viewed today. Her tiny feet show her vulnerability. Jesus accepts her as an equal, thus giving her status: he declares forgiveness and peace over her. He says her story will never be forgotten.

At the time I was carving the original stone sculpture also called The Weeping Lady, the Rotherham trials were being held to prosecute men who had groomed girls for sexual exploitation. I had also watched a film called ‘Nefarious’ where women around the world found themselves in abusive situations. Many were raised in a culture that colluded in their exploitation. With outside help, some escaped to a new life. The selling of young women into sexual slavery has become one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the global economy. Sex trafficking is defined as transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception and/or force into exploitative and slavery-like conditions. Today it is commonly associated with organised crime.