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Memorial to Mary Slessor
Memorial to Mary Slessor
Memorial to Mary Slessor

Memorial to Mary Slessor

Artist (Moray, Scotland, born 1963)
Date2007
Object NameMemorial
MediumKemnay granite and bronze
ClassificationsSculptures
AcquisitionOwned by Aberdeen City Council under the curatorial care of Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums.
Copyright© Mary Bourne
LocationOn Display - Union Terrace Gardens
Object numberABDCC001163
About MeCarved from Kemnay granite in the shape of a traditional Nigerian clay water vessel, with the words "the bush with its myriad voices calls to you" sandblasted in the rim. The words are reproduced in Mary Slessor's handwriting and taken from a letter to her great friend Charles Partridge. Within the top of the vessel is a bronze cast of Nigerian plant leaves. This was cast at Black Isle Bronze.

The artist chose to use granite to represent Slessor's tough, uncompromising belief in good and the glory of God and the strong encircling container to represent Slessor's role as protector of the weak. The Nigerian water vessels it is modelled on are essential features of life in Nigeria, in daily use fetching and carrying water - they are made by women for women. The smooth broad rim is designed to be very tactile.

The plant leaves are rich in texture and delicate, representing the qualities of life for the people Slessor protected. In the centre is a small plant shoot symbolising the seed for positive change planted by Mary Slessor and her practical help for local peoples establishing agricultural projects.

The choice of the dicotyledonous plant shoot, which grows twin leaves, was chosen by the artist as a reference to the twin babies Mary Slessor rescued.
More About Me

In Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens, this memorial is of Kemnay granite shaped like a traditional Nigerian water vessel and is carved with Slessor's words "the bush with its myriad voice calls you".