26 foot Knife angel made of surrendered knives
We hear awful things about gun crime in the USA, which is really worrying. In the UK we don’t have gun crime on the same scale because we do not have the right to own or carry guns thankfully.
However, knife crime is a serious problem here with even quite young teenagers taking knives out with them for ‘protection’. The consequences for many young people and their families are tragic.
The government, police forces and traders have been working together to tackle the issue in many ways. One of the ideas was an amnesty on knives that were handed in or placed in ‘surrender boxes’. These are secure boxes that are placed in police stations and YMCAs amongst other places.
Recently I went to see what has happened to all the knives that have been handed in so far, and I was staggered. Artist Alfie Bradley has created a 26-foot sculpture in the shape of an angel out of the 100,000 or so that were surrendered nationwide. It took him 2 years to create his memorial, which can be seen at Oswestry’s British Ironwork Centre.
The many coloured handles form the surface of the body of the angel, while the blades form the wings. I can’t describe just how moving this sculpture is, as many of the knives have actually been used in crimes. It has an expression of such tragedy on its face that it reflects the awful pain felt by those who suffer the consequences of knife crime.
The Knife Angel will be travelling around the country eventually to be displayed in other towns, but for now it is a thought-provoking entrance to the amazing artwork on show at the British Ironwork Centre.
I can recommend spending a day at the British Ironwork Centre. It is in a beautiful, unspoilt area of the country and the displays of art and craftwork are spectacular.
Here are photos of some of the other pieces of iron art on display. All are truly beautiful, but the gorilla is very interesting because it is entirely made of spoons donated by children from many countries after an appeal by the magician Yuri Geller.
Heavenhappens 
That’s really fascinating. Lovely to have a friend who finds such interesting places and shares her experiences so well. Another gem!
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Thank you Audrey. I find writing about my experiences and sharing my photos keeps the memories alive for me. I’m really happy if other people find pleasure or inspiration from reading about them.
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I was reading my Daily Word for today and read the meditation for tomorrow about The Knife Angel . It’s amazing, it’s on my list of things to see. Turning the negative into a positive. I truly thank the artist
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Lovely art from weapons, would that we could gather up the favorite weapons of the white male domestic terrorists we seem to grow over here. They are hard to find because so many LOVE their weapons of mass destruction.
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Indeed, it is so sad and pointless.
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Great entry Brenda but I felt so sad after looking at the angel. You know the reason.
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Thank you x I’m sorry it made you sad but hopefully the angel might make young people think carefully about carrying and using knives.
Sent by Brenda Kimmins
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Very meaningful art! I have seen similar art with spoons & forks but there was no tragedy behind them. Here in the US sometimes guns are “surrendered” but it does not seem to stop the killing. You have a lovely blog!
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Oh thank you! That’s a lovely comment x
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PS I love how your posts are surrounded by the rest of your photo. How did you do that?
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I went to Admin then Appearance then Background and colours then when you get the option to choose you can upload a photo from the computer and set it as background. It is a case of trial and error which photos work well as a background but luckily my autumn one worked out ok!
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Reblogged this on I choose how I will spend the rest of my life and commented:
Read this just now. Isn’t the angel amazing, particularly when we think of the many knives, some if not all, have a sad/bad history?
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Thank you for reblogging my post Judith. It’s very kind of you.
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What a beautiful thing is the angel made from knives many of which have a sad/bad history. Thanks for sharing.
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It is so good to see something positive come from such awful items. I’m sure the angel will make people think!
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🙂 Great examples!
Have a very HAPPY day 🙂
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Thank you x you too have a 😍day x
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A very good action/work of Art this sculpture! When will this madness of massive weapons production and distribution worldwide will have an end?
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Who knows? It’s a crazy world but hopefully this sculpture will open some people’s hearts and minds to the waste of life!
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that angel is amazing as is the gorilla. All are wonderful.
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Yes very impressive x thanks for commenting x
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A thing of beauty created from items destined for evil.
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Indeed and surprisingly moving. Have you visited the centre. It is very good.
Sent by Brenda Kimmins
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No, not visited. Didn’t even know about it though we were obviously close last week at a Ironbridge etc
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Oh that’s a shame but maybe stick it on your bucket list!!
Sent by Brenda Kimmins
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