May Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest - a new commission for the Houses of Parliament

I can now reveal the commission I've been working on since 2022, long under wraps and long in the design and execution.

Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022. From 14 to 19 September, Her Majesty lay in state at Parliament. 250,000 people joined the queue to enter Westminster Hall, file past the coffin and pay their respects. 

Parliament invited six artists to observe and record this historic period. Witnessing both the ceremonial occasions and staff working behind the scenes, each artist captured their unique perspective of the events.  

I was one of those invited to be In Residence during the Lying - in - State and following the events to propose an artwork for the Parliamentary Art Collection. I spent 4 days observing the Lying-in-State of Her Majesty. I took in the setting, the military and royal vigils that kept watch day and night, and the queue of mourners paying their respects. My bronze memorial angel draws together the rich symbolism that I observed during the Lying-in-State. 

I spent many hours walking, photographing, observing, and mingling with the crowds whom the events had attracted. I took time reading tributes, admiring flowers and homemade memorial shrines and gifts left at the gates. I saw children’s drawings, souvenirs, condolence cards, personal trinkets and messages. 

Watching the events in Westminster Hall, in a fanciful moment I imagined one of the Medieval carved angels, high above in the architecture, swooping down to take a closer look at the Queen lying in state. It was a protective presence giving an approving nod as it hovered over the catafalque and witnessed the moment, the longest reign at a close, the filing by of thousands of us. 

Once the visual idea had arrived, I decided the details. Through sketching, maquette making with wax, and picture research, I allowed all I had seen to work through the imagination. It stems from a wish to work the whole experience and meaning, and all of the participants of those days, into one sculptural memorial piece. I hope that anyone who was there can find themself in it. 

This sculpted memorial is a message to the future. I hope that people whom we will never meet will know how it felt to be present at this historic moment, this collective loss, this life honoured by the collaboration of institutions and individuals.

The memorial angel is cast in bronze, with 24 carat gilding used to add golden details. The piece is about 1.8 metres high.

It is displayed in the Norman Porch, in the House of Lords. This is at the top of the Sovereign’s Staircase, where the monarch arrives before the State Opening of Parliament. 

It has been a great honour to work with the Lord Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art, who commissioned the statue, with Dr Katy Barrett the Deputy Chief Curator and Head of Engagement at the Houses of Parliament, and with her team. The statue was realised with the incredible expertise of all at Sculpture Castings Basingstoke, who pulled out all the stops to capture in bronze all the details, gestures and embellishments of this piece and welcomed me onto their workbenches for many months of making. It is always a pleasure and a fascinating experience to work with them. Here we are having just placed it on the plinth - thanks to Jay Battle and Scott Miles too for help with installation. I will have more to share about this in the coming weeks, including an exhibition about all of the commissions, in Westminster Hall in July. Meanwhile here is a link to the angel's page on UK Parliament's website.