Knife Angel: Contemporary Sculpture & Monumental Memorial

It is hard to comprehend what seeing 100,000 knives in one place would look like and with the best will in the world, I’m not sure anyone could have imagined the Knife Angel would be the result.

When I knew the Knife Angel sculpture was going to be in my local city of Liverpool, I knew I had to go visit it. I have to admit, I knew nothing about the Knife Angel until local news coverage picked up the story as it arrived in Liverpool at the end of November 2018. The Knife Angel moved from Liverpool to Hull (from the 1st February 2019) and beyond that, a tour around the country began. Read on for further details of the Knife Angel’s story and to see where it stands now…

(Updated: July 2021)

The Knife Angel Message

There is no doubt that the Knife Angel is an impressive sculpture standing at 27 ft tall. It landed first in Liverpool during the city’s 10 year anniversary celebrations since becoming a European Capital of Culture. However, the Knife Angel goes far beyond being just another addition to the world of contemporary art. It brings with it a powerful message!

Sculpted from over 100,000 knives that were handed in at police stations following a UK-wide amnesty in 2016, the Knife Angel tackles the issue of knife crime head on. It functions as a monument and memorial to all those who lost their lives to knife crime. Also knowing that the huge number of knives that have been used in the sculpture came from just one amnesty over a short time-scale hopefully makes us (as it did me) stop and realise just how big a problem knife crime really is in the UK.

How the Knife Angel was Created

The project is the brainchild of the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry, in collaboration with artist Alfie Bradley. The centre created the knife banks which were circulated to all 43 police forces around the country. The marketing campaign: ‘Save a Life, Surrender your Knife’ was launched and yielded the surrender of thousands of knives. It then took Alfie 2 years to create the Knife Angel.

Before he could do anything with the knives, each one had to be disinfected and all the blades blunted to avoid any injury. This was a mammoth task in itself. The external shape of the angel was actually created from steel sheeting to create a base from which to weld the knives onto.

Some of the blades have even been engraved with victim’s names as well as messages of love from families who have had to live with the consequences of knife crime. I think this is a lovely touch.

I love that the image of an angel was used for this project as I see an angel very much as a protective and comforting figure. In this context it is serving as a protector and guardian of knives. In contrast to most angel images though, the Knife Angel does not have a kindly face. Instead the angel looks stern and rather chilling thus enforcing the gravitas behind the message.

The Knife Angel on Tour

In Liverpool

Liverpool has been the first destination that the Knife Angel has appeared in since leaving its place of creation at the British Ironwork Centre. It has been positioned outside the Anglican Cathedral throughout December 2018 and January 2019. It has been behind railings for obvious reasons and with 24-hour security in place.

Its position at Liverpool Cathedral was certainly well thought out, as for those people visiting the Knife Angel who have had their lives touched directly by knife crime, the cathedral provides a suitable sanctuary in which to reflect, pray or light a candle for a loved one. Indeed there is a notice by the Knife Angel urging you to do just that!

Visiting Liverpool? You might be interested in this walking tour of Liverpool

Further Destinations

Following its time in Liverpool, the Knife Angel travelled to Hull taking up a prominent position in Queens Gardens throughout February 2019. Much like Liverpool was a European Capital of Culture, Hull was the UK’s City of Culture in 2017.

Whilst it’s great to see this monumental piece of art head to recognised cultural centres, I would love to see the Knife Angel visiting other areas too and thus continuing to raise critical awareness of knife crime. If at all possible it should definitely make its way to a location within all 43 constabularies so communities can see the result of those all important knife amnesties. Hopefully then those who surrendered their knives will get the chance to witness the positive result of their actions, something that is never normally associated with knife crime.

I’ll be keeping an eye on where the Knife Angel goes next so will update this post regularly with new dates if more happen.

UPDATE: And it happened – the Knife Angel has gone on tour!

Here’s a round up of where the Knife Angel has been…

LIVERPOOL: 1st December 2018 – 31st January 2019. Outside the Anglican Cathedral

HULL: 4th February – 4th March 2019. Situated in Queens Gardens.

COVENTRY: 14th March – 5th May 2019. It stood outside the cathedral by the Angel St Michael Sculpture. Coventry is set to be City of Culture in 2021.

BIRMINGHAM: 8th May – 13th June 2019. It was erected in Victoria Square so it was centrally placed in the city for all to see.

OSWESTRY The British Ironwork Centre: 13th June – 5th August 2019. The Angel returned home for some much needed TLC before heading back out on the road. It also gave the public a chance to see the angel at it’s base of conception.

MIDDLESBROUGH: 6th August – 1st September 2019. Like Birmingham, it was erected in Centre Square as the most central part of the town.

ROCHESTER, KENT: 2nd September – 29th September. Situated outside the cathedral.

DERBY: 1st – 28th October 2019. Situated outside the cathedral.

CHESTER: 1st – 28th November 2019. Situated outside the cathedral.

NEWTOWN, WALES: 3rd – 30 January 2020. This is the first Welsh location to host the Knife Angel and it was positioned outside the Oriel Davies Art Gallery.

GATESHEAD: 30th January – 27th February 2020. Situated in Performance Square outside the Sage Gateshead.

TELFORD: 28th February – 12th June 2020. Situated on Southwater Square. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Knife Angel remained in Telford for a fair few months until it was safe to be moved.

OSWESTRY The British Ironwork Centre: From June 2020 – June 2021

HEREFORD: 14th June – 12th July 2021. Situated outside the cathedral

Where to see the Knife Angel Now!

The Knife Angel has been at it’s home – the British Ironwork Centre throughout the pandemic and has just recently gone back out on tour, starting in Hereford. From mid July 2021 it will be back in Oswestry before continuing its tour to Chelmsford in September, then Blackburn in November 2021.

It really is a sight to see. Striking, powerful and emotive, its well worth visiting if you get the chance! There are many more proposed locations, including Northampton, Wrexham, Leicester and Wolverhampton so if you’ve not seen him, hopefully he’ll make his way to a location near you soon.

You can find out more about the Knife Angel tour on the British Ironwork Centre’s website.

There is also a petition underway by the British Ironwork Centre to see the Knife Angel take up position on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth. This would really show the Knife Angel off to the masses, but most importantly open up further conversation on the topic of knife crime and what should be done to try and combat what is now considered to be an epidemic. Follow this link to read more about it and sign the petition!

Get in Touch!

Have you visited the knife angel? What did you think? And do you want to see it come to a location near you? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!

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