Knife Murders 275/275. England & Wales
Year: 2021
Medium: Set of 275 rings made of metal from police confiscated knives and other artefacts.
Dimensions: variable
Exhibition: Blunt Blades, November 2021 – November 2022. The Higgins Bedford. Bedford. UK. This exhibition is realised with the support of The Higgins Bedford, Bedford Borough Council and Arts Council England.
Knife Murders 275/275 England and Wales is a set of 275 rings made using the metal from police confiscated knives and other artefacts. The rings represent homicides in England and Wales from April 2019 until March 2020. There are 10 small-sized rings to represent under children homicides (those aged under 16 years), 50 medium-sized thin rings to represent women homicides and 215 wide and large-sized rings to represent men homicides. Each ring is laser inscribed with the edition number AL KM20 1/275, AL KM 20 2/275, etc.
ABOUT BLUNT BLADES. THE EXHIBITION
Often provocative, artist Arabel Lebrusan engages with material culture and the feminine tactile environment, looking into wider issues of power relationships, exploitation and inequality. Blunt Blades extends Lebrusan’s study on material culture, exploring our complex relationships with knives and their varied roles. Blunt Blades began in 2013 when Bedfordshire Police gave the artist 3 crates of confiscated knives and other artefacts. Transforming the metal from these confiscated objects into works that could evoke other emotions, the display examines the ways materials carry inherent meanings and how those meanings can be reshaped. Lebrusan’s artworks, in their myriad forms, do not offer answers to the many issues they raise. Instead, they invite contemplation about object materiality, production of meanings and our shared humanity.
