Throughout the Knife Angel’s journey across the UK, it has become apparent to those involved that many of its spectators were keen to tie things to the monument’s railings.  These things include white ribbons, paper angels and personal items that are often left there to recognise or remember a loved one that has been affected by violence.

A spokesperson for the British Ironwork Centre said:

“We love seeing people engage with the Angel in this way, and wanted to introduce a more permanent and everlasting initiative to help them remember their loved ones long after the Knife Angel has moved onto its next host location. This is where our metal angels and the National Remembrance Ribbon come in”.

“Designed to honour and immortalise victims of violence, the National Remembrance Ribbon will be created from thousands of tiny metal angels collected from towns and cities all across the UK.  Each angel will be engraved with the name of a lost loved one and attached to a giant wall, constructed to take on the appearance of a flowing ribbon. The sculpture will be expandable to fit an infinite number of metal angels, making it an everlasting and eternal memorial for all those lost to actions of violence. Internationally, a number of memorial walls and sculptures exist but are all very specific to a particular group of people. The National Remembrance Ribbon will be the first of its kind to collectively commemorate victims of ALL forms of violence.

The National Remembrance Ribbon sculpture will be assembled using multiple panels for ease of movement and will become a travelling memorial, just like the Knife Angel, whereby locations across the country can host it for specific months of the year. It will become a very powerful reminder of the number of individuals that have fallen victim to senseless violence and will honour each and every individual who has tragically lost their lives through this avoidable pandemic that sweeps our nation. This will be the first time that the public will see the sheer volume of victims and will be a truly shocking experience for everyone who sees it, hopefully prompting community officials to step up in order to turn the tide on this vicious and unnecessary behaviour.

The main purpose of the monument is to help the general public to see the shocking volume of people affected by needless violence throughout the UK each year. The combination of this understanding coupled with the passion to stand up against violence will empower us all to make the changes so desperately needed. Additionally, bearing witness will motivate and embolden our leaders to grasp the nettles necessary to make true societal change. Without identifying every individual personally or irreversibly affected by violence, we have no single vision of the urgency of this national blight – something which we hope the National Remembrance Ribbon will strongly address.

We will be starting this initiative by sending out these metal angels to thousands of mothers across the UK who have lost children to violence. The first 100 mothers to approach us will receive an engravable angel free-of-charge. The families will then engrave the angels with the names of lost loved ones, dates and sentiments before sending them back to us to be added to the National Remembrance Ribbon sculpture. If you’re a mother or a family member of someone who has fallen victim to violence, please get in touch with us. We would love to send you an angel to engrave as part of the Remembrance Ribbon Sculpture”.

Find out more about the project here: https://www.britishironworkcentre.co.uk/show-areas/the-knife-angel-official/the-national-remembrance-ribbon-sculpture

Engraved Metal Angels

Official ‘National Remembrance Ribbon’ Concept Art