The Wake — a sculpture by the artist Khaleb Brooks — has been chosen as the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery. It will be erected at West India Quay, outside the London Museum Docklands.
Taking the form of a seven-metre-high cowrie shell cast from bronze, the walk-through sculpture is a reference to the shells which hold cultural and spiritual significance to many, but became a symbol of slavery and the exploitation of human life as currency.
The price of enslaved people was often quoted in cowries, and they became known as "the shell money of the slave trade." Says a press release from the Mayor of London's office: "The Wake acknowledges that dark past but also reclaims the cowrie shell as a symbol of resilience, creating a space for contemplation and reflection."
Brooks's sculpture — which was selected from a shortlist of six — will be unveiled in 2026 outside the London Museum Docklands in West India Quay. London, of course, played a major role in the transatlantic slavery trade, something which the museum acknowledges in its permanent London, Sugar & Slavery exhibition. Between 1662 and 1807, British and British colonial ships purchased some 3.4 million Africans.
Up until a few years ago, a statue of the slave owner Robert Milligan stood on this spot, but following protests and petitions, was removed in 2020. Essentially replacing it with The Wake is a powerful and enlightening message.
Said the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: "It's essential that London's streets, statues and memorials reflect our shared history, and this memorial will help to remind and educate Londoners of the capital’s role in this terrible treatment of human beings."
Added Khaleb Brooks: "We are our history, it tells us where we've been, where we are and the direction we could go. The Wake is an opportunity for us to not just acknowledge the victims of the trade, but to honour how far we've come and actively engage in the current necessity for social change."
A number of smaller shells will be installed at other London locations with connections to the trade of enslaved people.
