New Memorial to victims of transatlantic slavery

The Wake by Khaleb Brooks will be London’s new Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery.  Announced on the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, the new memorial will feature a nearly seven-metre-high bronze cowrie shell. 

Cowrie shells hold cultural and spiritual significance, but became a stark symbol of slavery and the exploitation of human life as currency. The Wake acknowledges that dark past but also reclaims the cowrie shell as a symbol of resilience, creating a space for contemplation and reflection. 

It was chosen from a shortlist of six proposals after an open public consultation during the summer of 2024 in which thousands voted. The memorial is planned to be unveiled in 2026.

The new memorial will be the first of its scale and profile in the UK and will be located in West India Quay in London Docklands.

This location was chosen because of its connection to the transatlantic slavery. Warehouses in West India Quay were built to receive the products of slavery. They are some of the only surviving buildings of their kind in the capital. 

There will also be satellite sites to connect with different stories of slavery across London. Through these satellite sites, the memorial will bring to life the weight of this history and the legacy of the slave trade in London, the UK and the world.

Back in June, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced a shortlist of leading artists to create the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery.   

The shortlisted artists and their proposed works were:

• Alberta Whittle – Echoes from beneath the deep and in between the canes includes a Caribbean-style pavilion alongside a sugarcane field and cowrie shells which are synonymous with the trade in enslaved people.   
• Grada Kilomba – Archaeology of Contemplation uses the image of a boat as a metaphor of remembrance, remembering those who were transported as cargo by the British and other nations. 
• Helen Cammock – Ripple is a large-scale, circular stone structure with six discoverable engraved texts in West African wood. It asks us to think about how histories resonate, reverberate and replicate - just like a ripple in water. It creates a space to reflect and learn from the generational experiences of enslaved people. 
• Hew Locke – Memorial for the victims of the transatlantic slave trade consists of bronze sculptures of boys and girls, carrying buildings which were built in London from money earned by the trade in enslaved people.
• Khaleb Brooks – The Wake uses a large scale cowrie shell to represent the perseverance, prosperity and beauty rooted in African and African diasporic heritage. 
• Zak Ové – Nana Buluku is an 11m tall and richly decorated representation of an African Queen, Nana Buluku. She is believed to be the mother of all deceased people and accompanies them during their journey to the land of the dead, preparing their souls to be born again.