This March, Worcester is privileged enough to have the 27ft Knife Angel in its Cathedral square. This statue is made of 100,000 weapons and was created by the genius Alfie Bradley. It was made to highlight knife in the UK and educate young people about the harmful effect of violent behavior can have on community whilst showing it in a ‘beautiful yet sad’ way.
At the moment, knife crime is sadly dominating the news headlines and Bradley felt like he had to do something to raise awareness as this problem seems to be escalating at a rapid pace. This triggered his idea create a Knife Angel sculpture out of the knives as a memorial to the knife crime victims.
The Knife Angel is made from approximately 100,000 knives and blades taken from the streets of Britain. It was built in collaboration with police forces in the UK, the blades were collected through knife amnesties and surrenders across the country. Once collected, the blades were safely transported to the Centre, where they were blunted and sterilised before use, ready to tour the country.
All the knives, have stories that go with them. Just one of them is Jeremie Malenge, also known as ‘Jdot’. Jeremie was just 17 years old and lived in Homerton, England. He was brutally stabbed and murdered on the 6th of January. His father, emotionally explained how he brought his family to the UK to keep them safe, give them opportunities’ and give them a better life. He broke down saying the way his son was killed was the same way that many murders happen in Syria, the very country he tried to escape; ‘England was meant to be different.’ The son tragically died after being stabbed multiple times by three boys his age, who have been jailed for his murder along with another girl.
This statue has educated so many young minds about how serious it is to carry a knife around. 1 in 3 people who carry a knife get injured themselves. It amazes so many people that the maximum sentence for carrying a knife is up to four years in prison with an unlimited fine! If you injure someone or use the knife to commit a crime the consequences or penalties could increase massively.
Many schools are taking pupils to the memorable statue on trips to educate them on the meaning of the statue and some of the different stories behind it.
A pupil from Nunnery Wood has said it is ‘a breathtakingly, interesting and somber piece of art that hit home.’
By Freya Harrison 7.11, Lilia Neath 9.01 & Poppy Hope 9.05 with BBC Young Reporter
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