The sculpture «From mother’s milk we come» by the artist Vera Omodeo
A woman breastfeeding her baby sparks political controversy. «From mother’s milk we come» is the title of the bronze statue, which has become of discord, which the family of the artist Vera Omodeo wanted to donate to the city so that it could be displayed in a square, in particular the one dedicated to another woman, Eleonora Duse.
But the specific commission of the Municipality, responsible for evaluating the works of art to be included in public spaces, rejected the proposal unanimously because, as stated in the minutes, «the sculpture certainly represents respectable values but not universally shared by all citizens, such as to discourage its inclusion in public space». And he suggested the family donate the statue to “a private institution, for example a hospital or a religious institute, within which the theme of motherhood, expressed here with exquisitely religious nuances, is better valued”.
The words sparked bipartisan controversy from the center-right, but also from the Democratic Party which represents the majority in the city council. Even the mayor Giuseppe Sala was surprised by the decision and said that he will ask «the commission itself to re-examine the issue, at least listening to my opinion because I don’t think it offends any sensitivity. It seems a bit of a stretch to me to argue that it doesn’t respond to a universal sensitivity.”
And the Councilor for Culture Tommaso Sacchi also agreed with him, according to which the statue “does not offend anyone and we will consider giving it a location”.
Those of the municipal commission «are surreal motivations – said the artist’s daughter, Serena Omodeo who wanted to pay homage to her mother and all women by donating the work, with the collaboration of the female toponymy association -. We don’t care about locking her up, there are only two statues dedicated to women in the city and this one was also created by a female artist. Furthermore, a partially naked woman doesn’t seem like a religious subject to me at all. Thanks to the mayor and the councilor if they manage to find a place for the work.”
However, politics attacks, on the right and on the left, with Silvia Sardone, MEP of the League, who stated that “a mother who holds a child close to her chest cannot offend anyone with even a shred of brain”. While the Democratic Party with councilors Alice Arienta and Luca Costamagna underlined how «motherhood as a choice of love and freedom is an asset to be protected and valorised. It is not by erasing the figure of motherhood that women are helped.”
