Visualizing Pregnancy, Birth, and Maternity through the Giant Placenta Project


The Giant Placenta Project, knit sculpture
Copyright 2018, Rebecca Vandyk-Hamilton. All Rights reserved.

Envisioned by Rebecca Vandyk-Hamilton, B.A., B.Ed., B.Sci(Psych. Hons), M.P.H., The Giant Placenta Project is a massive knit sculpture that has been shown outdoors, including in Australia and the Netherlands. Vandyk-Hamilton, her children, a sister, and many friends (30 women total) knit the sculpture communally from more than 900 recycled t-shirts.

Vandyk-Hamilton created the Giant Placenta while working on her Masters of Public Health. The artwork celebrates the placenta, a temporary organ created in the uterus during pregnancy, and also teaches viewers about the wondrous work that the placenta does during pregnancy.


Vandyk-Hamilton setting up her Giant Placenta

We are seldom taught about the placenta, and yet this vital organ provides all protection and life to the fetus during pregnancy, regulating its breath, food, immunity, and the functions of critical work of its lungs, kidneys, and digestive tract (Cedars Sinai). When we realize the miraculous work of the placenta, we also have a new understanding of how the powerful way in which the female body is able to create a temporary organ to support the fetus.

Visualizing the placenta during pregnancy, the pregnant woman can imagine the way this large, soft, organ supports the fetus’ health within the womb. These visualizations also extend into the birth process itself, with birth of the placenta existing as the last stage of birth, and into maternity itself, helping mothers to feel powerful at how their bodies support their unborn children.

In addition to her background in public health, Rebecca Vandyk-Hamilton is an artist and arts educator. She may be reached through her LinkedIn page.