CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: A Community Lino-Carving, Printmaking Project on Birth Experiences in the UK.
Held/NotHeld
The Context
Birth is one of the oldest thresholds we cross — and yet no two crossings are the same. For some, it's straightforward, unfolding exactly as hoped, with no intervention needed at all. For others, it means a caesarean, planned or otherwise. For others still, an induction, a long labour, a quick one, a rescue, a rupture in what had been hoped for. For some, it means holding a newborn body that never took a breath. The UK currently ranks 19th of 22 comparable OECD countries on infant mortality(1). A heartbreaking statistic.
The graph below inspired me to launch this initiative: Caesarean rates in England have climbed toward 45%, without a matching rise in outcomes(2), alongside induction rates now at roughly 34% — up from 20% in the late 2000s, with about 30% of induced labours ending in unplanned caesareans(3). Induction is meant to protect mother and baby, yet some of the care around it — like frequent internal exams after waters break — carries the very infection risk it's guarding against. This project doesn't aim to answer why. It's here to sit with the many questions, alongside your reflections.
Furthermore, the recent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation(4), chaired by Baroness Valerie Amos, shows the huge amount of work that needs to be done to fix the current maternity care system in this country. Amos concluded that the current system is "not fit for now or the future."
The mental health issues that so often go unsupported afterwards affect around a quarter of mothers(5), and the support is simply not adequate.
Numbers can't show what it felt like to not be listened to, or to find your strength in a system not built around you. A system that doesn't always value/support a mother's intuition. That's what this project is for.
Whatever your experience — smooth or complicated, joyful or traumatic, or a loss you still carry — your story belongs here.
Participation is free, and the project is open to mothers, partners, and carers alike. Every tile will be included in the final piece.
Your story. From your own hands.
The Invitation
I am inviting mothers who have had premature births/deaths, cesarean births, vaginal births, and the spaceholders(midwives, doctors, doulas and partners) to carve 1 or more small lino tiles (75mm × 75mm) in response to your experience with our maternity care system. This might be your own birthing experience or your experience as a spaceholder. You might want to carve one tile, or, if you have had multiple experiences, you might choose to honour each experience with its own tile. It’s up to you. You are invited to contribute as much or as little as you want.
Let your tile respond to any part of your journey: the relief of a birth that unfolded the way it needed to, the moment you were told you weren't dilating fast enough, the fear, the doubt, the strength, the loss of control, the reclaiming of it. Let your hands carve what your body remembers. There is no single "right" image — abstract, figurative, symbolic, literal, rooted in nature, rooted in spirit — however your experience wants to be carved. You can include words too — just make sure you carve any text mirrored, so it reads the right way round once printed.
Completed tiles will be brought together into 1 or more collective artworks; Each precious image is a small mark, one voice. Together, they will grow into something powerful that cannot be looked past.
My intention is for this larger piece/s to be exhibited across galleries and other public spaces in the UK from 2027. If you have a specific venue you would like me to connect with to be part of this tour, please let me know.
Every image I receive will be welcome and held by me with tenderness. This project is designed to provide an opportunity for the healing/reflection that gives expression to your personal journey.
This is not a project that ranks experiences against one another, and it is not a space for judgement of yourself, your body, or the choices that were made — by you or for you. It is a space for supporting each other and respecting each contribution and experience. Everybody who has carried, carries, delivered or supported the delivery of a new life will be honoured in this project.
Whether you are a complete beginner or a professional printmaker, you are warmly invited and encouraged to join. Every piece will be included, and every mark made is important. If you don't have lino/tools, you can buy sets via my online shop.
It wouldn’t feel right to ask women to be vulnerable and take part in this without stepping into this space also. My own hope, for both my births, was simple: to feel strong and supported, and to bring healthy babies into the world. I am grateful that the latter came to fruition. I certainly didn't feel as strong/empowered as I had hoped I would. Here is my birth story for those who wish to read it. I will be contributing a tile for each of my children as well.
Please register your interest in taking part in this community project here.
Please note this is a not-for-profit initiative. Any profit that is made during this project will be donated to a charity(TBD) working in this sector.
What to submit
• 1 or more lino tiles, each 75mm × 75mm (7.5cm squares)
• Once ready, please complete the submission form and send the carved tile/s to me(address will be sent to you after the submission form is complete). If you can send me a small print of it as well, that would be great, but it is not compulsory. I recommend you keep a print of the piece yourself as well!
• If your piece is specifically inspired by a vaginal birth, caesarean birth, premature birth, miscarriage or stillbirth, I would be grateful if you could put a V, C, P, M or S on the back. This may help me when putting them together into a collective piece.
• Optional - if you are on Instagram, I would be grateful if you could share a picture of your carved piece+/ your piece printed
tagging - @heldnotheld
hashtag - #held/not-held
• Optional: The story behind your piece: Beyond the tile itself, if you feel called to, you are warmly invited to share the story behind it — as much or as little as you want to tell. Speak it in whatever voice feels true to you — grateful, grieving, fierce, soft, or all of these at once. There will be space for this on the submission form.
Deadline: The Deadline for this project is 11th October 2026. I reserve the right to extend the deadline if needed.
By offering your involvement in this community artwork project, you are permitting me to share your piece publicly. Please do not submit any work that isn't your own. Please read the full terms and conditions here.
This project stands alongside the women whose voices shaped the recent national maternity care report — and makes room for the ones who didn't get to speak. With gratitude, and in honour of every body that has carried life.
Register here to get involved
Follow this project on Instagram @heldnotheld
If you have any questions, please email me at zoe@zoeclementines.com
References:
1 - https://post.parliament.uk/maternal-newborn-and-infant-health-priorities-for-improved-outcomes/
2 - https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/assets/downloads/npeu-news/June-2026-NPEU-International-caesarean-rates.pdf
3 - https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/new-nmpa-report-reveals-significant-shifts-in-birth-trends-in-great-britain/
4 - https://www.matneoinv.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WEBSITE_NMNI-Final-Report-and-Recommendations.pdf
5 - https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/postnatal-depression/