The Angel of the North

We asked our team to tell us about their favourite ever piece of design. It could be a logo, a building, an object (shoes, gadgets, product packaging). The only criteria was that they consider it a thing of beauty and have an emotional connection to it.

The Angel of the North - by Sue Kiddy (Managing Editor)

“We all need a guardian angel and they don't come much bigger than this!”

Why do you love it? What does it mean to you?

I love its sheer size and scale – it's an unmissable icon to anyone travelling through the North of England on the A1, or living in Gateshead, where it is located. Although I'm not from the North, I travel the A1 fairly regularly visiting dear friends in Scotland and when I pass it I know it won't be long until I reach them – and when I see it on the way home I know I'm about halfway there.

What are your favourite aspects of it?

When the sculptor Antony Gormley's design was selected for the old mining site on a hilltop in 1994 it caused a lot of controversy. Since it was completed in 1998, though, people have fallen in love with the angel and it has become one of the most talked about and recognisable pieces of public art ever produced. To me it symbolises light coming out of the sometimes dark history of mining. I also love the way many of the original 'haters' have become 'believers' (in an art appreciation, not necessarily religious, way!).

Photo: ICE

When you see the angel, what memories does it bring back?

My children were little when the angel was first erected and stopping to get up close to it became a highlight of our long journeys to Scotland. When I see it now my kids are grown up it brings back memories of lovely (if sometimes challenging!) family road trips. It also inspired us to visit other Antony Gormley installations as a family, including the life-size 'Another Place' figures on Crosby Beach and 'Event Horizon' in New York. Antony Gormley described the angel as a focus for our hopes and fears and I can relate to that as a mother.