A stillbirth awareness visual…

Song – I will carry you, Selah

“Little Lives consists of 2000 non-fired ceramic pods, providing visual to the leading cause of infant death in Australia; stillbirth. Each pod is hand crafted and special, uniquely representing a little life lost to stillbirth.” Celeste says. This large installation encourages viewers to dive deep into their thoughts and picture these pods as babies, realising that it is far too many and evoke conversation about an ever-silenced subject. Celeste says “stillbirth isn’t inevitable. This ceramic installation has an opportunity to create awareness of stillbirth in a subtle yet impactful way. Given that half of these deaths each year are preventable why not use art to help save lives.” Celeste was personally affected by stillbirth after the death of her niece Alfie in 2014, since then her life changed in ways she would have never imagined. Celeste says, “Little Lives isn’t just for Alfie, it is for her fellow Angel babies chasing butterflies in the skies, and for the countless broken hearts which hold an emptiness for their children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters and loved ones”. Celeste engaged with Still Aware, a local charity invested in ending preventable stillbirth, through raising awareness and giving voice the thousands of lives unnecessarily lost to stillbirth each year. Still Aware representative Kellie French says of Celeste’s work “the visual is inspiring and beautifully depicts the individuals they represent. Each baby is unique, and Celeste has created a symbol that represents the subtle differences between each precious life born without breath.” It is incredible to see a visual of the 2000 babies each year that are stillborn in Australia, 50% of which the charity believes can be saved through raising awareness and sharing a safer pregnancy message. Celeste invited bereaved parents to take part in the creation of the pods in honour of their children. Bereaved father Brad Heath says that he has been proud to take part in helping form the pods “anything I can do to honour and remember my daughter Alfie is a blessing. It is emotional to see the installation and my daughter represented in this amazing work of art. I’ve never seen anything like it before”.