A sculpture of escaped enslaved woman Mary Ann Macham is taking shape at a studio in North Shields.
Created by artist Keith Barrett, Mary Ann has been carved from wood and is about to be cast in bronze ahead of her installation at the top of the town’s spectacular Riverside Embankment Walkway later this year, as part of the North Shields 800 celebrations.
The artwork represents Mary Ann’s moment of freedom as she arrived in North Shields on Christmas Day 1831. She fled a lifetime of abuse at a plantation in Virginia, USA, evading a search team with blood hounds before stowing away aboard a ship.
She settled in North Shields, where she married and lived into her 90s. She was supported by the Spence family, well-known Quakers who pushed for the abolition of slavery.
The sculpture is part of North Tyneside Council’s Ambition for North Shields, which aims to create a more vibrant town centre, a stronger evening and weekend economy, and high-quality public spaces, including a series of public artworks. Funding was provided by the North East Combined Authority from the region’s Transforming Cities Fund.
Artist Keith Barrett said: “I have committed to try and represent Mary Ann as she may have been, at the moment of her arrival in North Shields. I want to represent her power and her bravery, and the fact that she came from a place of suffering and pain. Her arrival in North Shields on Christmas Day 1831 represents a moment of freedom and finding a better life.
“We only have one image of Mary Ann, in black and white and taken later in life, a long time after her arrival. She is having to sit still for the Victorian camera so her expression is quite fixed. I wanted to be faithful to her portrait, but to animate her and make her appear as she may have been at the age of 29 when she arrived here.
“She has very strong cheekbones, a straight nose, a strong mouth and chin. I drew out her features and then sculpted her portrait in clay, and worked from that into the carving.
“I made the decision to portray her barefoot, to symbolise the condition of slavery from which she had escaped, and to help us connect with her humanity and strength.
“When she was enslaved, she was whipped with cow hides and tortured. Her own account of her escape says: “I have marks on me that I will carry to my grave.” I wanted the sculpture to bring us close to her, to her deep pain and her moment of salvation.”
Mary-Ann stowed away on a ship from Virginia to the Netherlands, and arrived in North Shields by road. She was welcomed by the family of John Spence, the Quaker philanthropist who John Spence Community High School in North Shields is named after. John’s daughters were there to meet Mary Ann when she arrived in North Shields, and later helped document her story.
She is buried in Preston Cemetery and her gravestone reads: “Mary Ann Blyth née Macham, rests here with her husband James. Escaped from slavery in Virginia USA. Arrived in North Shields Christmas Day 1831. Welcomed into freedom by the Spence family. Supported in her new life by the Quaker community.”
Keith said: “When I cast Mary Ann in bronze I will add shackles to her wrists, and broken chains to symbolise her breaking free. I am creating a foundry for the bronze casting now.
“I have depicted her as a figurehead on the prow of a ship. This links the tradition of the sculpture back to the icon of North Shields, the Wooden Dolly. The original Dolly wasn’t a fish wife, she was a ship’s figurehead. Even though Mary Ann arrived in North Shields by coach, her escape from slavery was by sea. I’ve used a language of magic realism to tell the story of her escape and her arrival. She’s part of the community of the world who came across the sea to call North Shields home over the centuries.
“Mary Ann will be lifted on to the top of the Riverside Embankment Walkway by crane, and the spot is really fitting because at one point she lived just a few yards from there, on Lower Howard Street.“
Councillor Carl Johnson, Deputy Mayor for North Tyneside and cabinet member responsible for Regeneration, Culture and Economic Development said: “The Riverside Embankment Walkway sits at the top of North Shields’ historic Fish Quay and we are proud to be installing this important public artwork at the top of the bank, looking over the river and out to sea.
“North Shields has a rich and diverse history. Mary Ann’s is one of the amazing stories we have helped to tell in a series of public artworks as part of our Ambition for North Shields, alongside Thomas Brown, Ellen Lee and Charles Minto.
“The statue of Mary Ann, with her incredible tale of resilience, strength and courage, will be unveiled to coincide with our North Shields 800 anniversary celebrations, as we take pride in the past, present and future of the town and its people.”