Alison Lapper

Art Appreciation

British artist Alison Lapper is known for incorporating her disability in photography, digital imaging, and painting. She was born on April 7, 1965 with a medical condition called phocomelia. 

An article in The Guardian, which you can read here, tells of her struggles growing up with the disability. At seven weeks old, she was sent to a children's home with other children with various impairments.  

At a young age, she got involved in art. She enrolled in Heatherley School of Fine Arts, an independent art school in London, then the Faculty of Art and Architecture at the University of Brighton, where she graduated first class honors in Fine Arts in 1994.

After the birth of her son, she produced work that aimed to challenge society's preconceptions about motherhood and disability. In 2003, she won a Woman of the Year award and awarded an MBE, a British order of chivalry, for services in the arts.

In 2019, her son, Parys, died of a sudden suspected accidental drug overdose. In an interview, Lapper mentioned her son had been bullied at school over her disability which led to his mental illness.

Sources:

Wikipedia, The Guardian, National Portrait Gallery UK, artranked