Why has the Angel of the North become a place of memorial? Published on: 6 November 2023 The Angel of the North is one of the country’s most iconic symbols and is synonymous with the North East. Tokens of remembrance But below the sculpture’s impressive 54 feet wingspan, part of the site it stands on has taken on a new meaning as people pay their respects to loved ones. Visitors to the site have been leaving tokens of remembrance, such as toys, cards, and personal messages, in a wooded area near Antony Gormley’s artwork, which was installed in Gateshead in 1998. Now, a Â鶹´«Ã½ academic wants to find out more about why this area holds so much emotional value for people and why they have chosen it to remember their loved ones. “As a Gateshead resident, I have regularly visited the site,” said Professor Anne Whitehead, who researches how we tell stories of grief and loss. “I’d noticed over the years that in some trees near the Angel, people had left tokens of remembrance. I was moved by these memorials and I’ve been increasingly fascinated with them. I would like to create a sound work that records what this place means to the people who leave memorial objects and messages there.” A ribbon left near the Angel of the North Recording the memorial Professor Whitehead is now appealing for anyone who has left an item at the site at any time to speak to her. She is working with sound recordist David de la Haye, who plans to record the memorial across the seasons of the year, as well as the sound of the Angel of the North itself. These recordings will be combined with interviews to create a short work that will play in the Arches Sound Project at Â鶹´«Ã½ in July 2024. All participants in the project will be invited to a launch event. "I am excited to explore the resonance of the Angel, both physically and emotionally, at this special location” says David. The project is funded by the Catherine Cookson Foundation. If you have left an item at the site, you can contact Professor Whitehead on anne.whitehead@ncl.ac.uk and she will be happy to tell you more about the project. More information can be found at this link: Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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