Teenage son of disabled artist Alison Lapper found dead 19 years after being depicted with pregnant mother in Trafalgar Square sculpture
Disabled artist Alison Lapper's son has been found dead. She had famously posed pregnant with him for the Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth sculpture in one of Britain's most popular artworks.
"Tragically, Parys Lapper, who was only 19 years old, died suddenly a week ago," Lapper’s fiance Si Clift said, requesting donations toward the Mental Health Foundation in Parys' memory, Daily Mail reports.
Lapper posed for Marc Quinn in 2000 for a marble sculpture which was on display in Trafalgar Square from 2005 to late 2007. She was born without arms and with shortened legs because of a condition called phocomelia.
That said, the 'Alison Lapper Pregnant' sculpture was regarded as the most powerful work by a British artist in decades, with a large replica of it being featured in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympics.
The 54-year-old has never publicly identified Parys's biological father, who she said left her before he was born.
Lapper fought to bring him up on her own despite facing great opposition, as she herself had been abandoned by her parents as an infant and spent her life growing up in institutions.
"When I saw him, I just cried and cried," she said after Parys's birth in 2000. "The emotions I felt were indescribable. I had never imagined I was going to be a mother, never thought it could be possible. But when they placed him on my shoulder and I gave him a little kiss on his head and said 'hello', I was overwhelmed."
Parys was part of BBC's acclaimed documentary series 'Child of Our Time'—presented by Professor Robert Winston—which charted the lives of 25 youngsters until they reached their 20th birthdays in a bid to increase understanding of childhood development.
Parys was the only one to have died before reaching that milestone.
Alison featured on one episode of the program, and was seen leaving Parys so she could travel abroad for work. "Parys is clearly not entirely happy about this, the impression we gain is that he does have sufficient trust in his mother that he can anticipate her return and her continued presence in his life," read an analysis of his behavior published by the Open University.
"This moving story illustrates eloquently the importance of building a strong attachment early on in a child’s life," the analysis continued. "As is shown so clearly in this program, Alison overcame many obstacles to give Parys as much care, love and attention as she could while he was a baby."
Lapper was awarded an MBE for services to art in 2003 after she overcame her disabilities to achieve a first-class honors degree in fine arts at Brighton University, and later established a career as an artist herself.
In 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate at Brighton, where she described Parys as her "greatest piece of artwork and creation."
Clift described Parys as "a mischievous, generous, kind, loving, frustrating, cheeky, forgiving, beautiful boy."
"He was his own man," he said. "He was a good son."
Clift appealed to local motorcyclists to join Parys's funeral—scheduled to be held Thursday at Worthing Crematorium—as a tribute to the avid motorcycle fan. "Ali has expressed a dear wish that she would absolutely love to see as many noisy motorbikes as possible to escort Parys on his final journey from her home to celebrate his life," he added.