The Knife Angel
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- www.britishiro...
For full information go to the website above.
The following information is from their website.
The Beginnings
Before the Knife Angel was even a concept, we first recognized the struggles that all 43 police constabularies were having with knife and sharp weapon crime, and the lack of assistance and support for this. Police forces were paying for knife banks themselves, and these were not cheap.
We knew that with our skills and expertise, we could help. Our Chairman, Clive Knowles, approached the Home Office and explained how we could provide personalized knife banks completely free of charge, and initially installed free of charge, to all police constabularies nationwide.
From the get-go, we were saving approximately £5 million in the National purse and tax-payers money. Each force that got in touch to request knife banks had organised knife amnesties and surrenders in their region.
We ensured that all knife banks were personalized with sign writing, but these were not just personalized for the police forces and locations, but also with names of community groups such as neighbourhood watches and traffic police. We wanted every community to be able to take ownership of the amnesties and to be involved in the whole process.
The Making of the Angel
We employed sculptor Alfie Bradley to help bring the Angel to life. Alfie began by creating a structure to form the basic shape of the Angel. Steel sheeting was the most suitable material for this to aid the formation of the organic shape, as well as enabling Alfie to weld each individual knife, blade facing outwards, to the Sculpture.
Alfie then began the task of welding each blade to the Angel. The variety of knives and weapons the police forces had collected was astounding. From standard kitchen knives and flick pocket knives through to Samurai swords, knuckle dusters and martial arts weapons. What was alarming was we even came across homemade weapons.
The building of the body was a lengthy process, and Alfie was working at developing the Angel’s face and hands whilst paying close attention to the expression the face formed. It was crucial for him to get the emotion across in the facial expression, almost as if the Angel is asking….Why?
Alfie took inspiration from family photographs and his own facial expressions to ensure the Angel expressed the right emotions.
Each knife bank was padlocked and chained and made of robust steel to ensure that they were completely secure for placement in areas such as city centres. By taking on most of the logistics ourselves, we were ensuring we were enabling the police forces to carry out further amnesties and weapon surrenders all year round - not just during the annual amnesty weeks that were originally held nationwide.
In total over 200 knife banks were created here in our workshops, all at our own cost. We understood that funding cuts were one of the main reasons police forces just couldn’t afford to create knife banks to carry out successful amnesties, with some knife banks even costing over £4,000 to create.
Dates for 2023
March Guildford Cathedral
April Bradford Yorks
May Crewe, Cheshire
June Warwickshire Police
July Open to book
August Ipswich
September Harlow
October Sunderland
November Morecombe
December Doncaster
#Vlogger #RUclipsr #Cathedral #GuilfordCathedral #KnifeAngel #Violence #Knives #BritishIronWorks #Statue #Blades #Suffering #KnifeAmnesties #Weapons #DeathFromViolence #KnifeAngel
#StopKnifeCrimes #AlfieBradley
Hello Kevin and Cynthia what an amazing statue very moving thanks for sharing it with us .when it was lite up that was even more spectacular thankyou see you soon x
Thank you, Fiona 😊.
It was very much appreciated.
Yes, see you soon. X
Wish I'd known you were there, I live about a mile away down the hill from there.
It's the expression and the hand position that got me!😢
Thank you, Ray, 😊.
Yes, that was a shame. Another time.
Thank you Kevin for sharing this amazing piece of art. It is beautiful, sad, thought provoking, unique, moving, powerful. All the best to you from Massachusetts!🤔
Thank you Sherry . You have said it all in your comment. Much appreciated
You're right Kevin, it is hard to describe how you feel about it. It's sad and all the other things Sherry has said below. Thanks for sharing. I've not heard about it before 🥰
Thank you Lynn . At times I could feel myself getting a little chocked up, and as you know I am this bubbly cheerful person but I am also an emotional person.
@@KevinsRambles I get that Kevin, I think I would have felt the same 🥲
Very thought provoking
Magnificent! 👍🙏
Thank you Dave 🙂
It is amazing Kevin, I saw it at Rochester cathedral in 2019
Thank you, John 😊.
Very thought provoking.
This was so thought provoking Kevin & Cynthia. I'm speechless as to what to say. What a world we live in!
Thank you, Tracey 😊.
The world we are living in is a very scary place, sadly.
It's brainwashing.
@@sophiafakevirus-ro8cc what is brainwashing?
@@cynthiascamera7872 I'm glad you asked Cynthia.
I'm not religious but that is a statue of Satan, the fallen angel. Why would an angel have wings made of murder weapons? It's an evil image.
They are putting one in every town, they have just pulled down the much loved fountain in my town to erect an Angel of knives in its place, despite a big petition.
This image is to scare people, make us mistrust others, and not want to go out, and to fool people into believing their is a knife crime epidemic, which there isn't. It is also to encourage others to do knife crime too. (Look at tiktok you can see that people follow where they are lead. Monkey see, monkey do).
If you want to promote peace you do not make a sculpture out of knives (supposedly) used in stabbings. Peace is about loving kindness.
This is hate propaganda.
If you didn't know by now, we are owned, ruled and controlled by evil people, who do not have our best interests at heart.
Beautiful piece of sculpture, very powerful - could the hands being held out have a deeper meaning of the stigmata on Jesus’s hands?
It's hard to know what to say. Heartbreaking.....
Thank you, Jean 😊.
Yes, it is heartbreaking.
Kevin this is a very poignant and sad monument indeed. Here in Gloucester it was received well. We have a personal connection to knife crime which makes it all the more significant. The country as a whole does need to think on. 🙏🏻
Thank you, Watto 😊.
I am sorry to hear that you have a connection to knife crime 🥺.
You are quite right about it being a poignant and sad monument.
The police should have never ceased stop and serch.
Thank you, Michael 😊.
It's a difficult one, isn't it with the police, the are dammed if they do and dammed if they dont.
Yes l am sorry to say that they are.
Bring in back but make sure you have a police force that represents the community in ethnicity.
Make sure, though, that the police officers aren't biased!
This is a stunning piece of work by a Shropshire artist. It is a pained expression of why? Knife crime needs sorting out. Years of deindustrialisation and increased poverty by both parties. This means the only way out of poverty being drug dealing. Legalise class B drugs and prostitution, in this way gangs are less likely to fight over territory. Invest in education rather than the 40 per class my cousin has to teach in the inner city Birmingham. Reintroduce stop and search but have a police force that represents the local community in ethnicity. In this way black on black violence will not be ignored and there would be trust in order to have reporting. Increase the fines for carrying a knife. Reward good behaviour with decent wages non minimum ones so people can earn an honest living. Stop the main stream media promoting and pushing Gansta culture.
Thank you, Marie 😊.
You mention some very valid points and express yourself extremely well, very much appreciated.
The government should stop encouraging one parent familes.
@@michaelwhite8031 If you can support the child yourself then there is nothing wrong in that. Fathers not paying child support is he problem.
I am not talking about divorce. In 70''s America they encouraged the break up of families by paying greater benifit's to fatherless homes. A male child needs both parents or they go looking for a father figure somewhere else, e.g. criminal gangs.
@@michaelwhite8031 you are both making valid points.
👼❤🙏
Thank you, A Perrin 😊
How tragic that this is what modern society has come to.
Thank you, Dianne 😊.
Yes, I agree, it's tragic and very sad 😔
It's brainwashing. It's Satanic.
There is no epidemic of knife crime.
It's to scare people and encourage others to do it.
They are going up in every town.
A very poignant piece the kind of expression only an artist can articulate.
Thank you, Andrew 😊. Yes, exactly, and as an artist yourself, you fully understand that.