NINA BILBEY, SCULPTOR
the LGBQT+ Armed Forces memorial
Letterforms by Charlotte Howarth
Working together as a collective, The Abraxas Academy, artists Charlotte Howarth, Nina Bilbey, Sue Aperghis, James Spedding and Roger Foyster at Holkham Forge and Kate Holmes are behind the LGBTQ+ armed forces community memorial design.
Their winning idea is an opened, free-standing letter made from forged bronze. The letter is a combination of words taken from evidence that was collected from veterans who were personally affected by the LGBTQ+ ban.
The concept for the memorial symbolises the personal letters of endearment collected as evidence to convict, expel and imprison LGBTQ+ personnel during the ban, and the anxiety of living in constant fear of receiving a formal letter accusation.
Words defining the heart of the whole project 
Mini person to give scale to the winning design 
The winning team 
Breakfast telly after winning! 
Exciting media coverage 
The maquettes are constantly being referred to 
Heating the folds to fine tune the angles so all the surfaces meet 
A major milestone visit from FWP charity 
Textured surfaces on words that are being polished 
Turning the bronze to attach the base plate 
James posing for Russell Sachs photographer 
Beautiful inscription 
Finishing the base and the final polish on the back 
Serving personnel visit the memorial for the first time 
Every inch is considered and hand finished 
Preparing for transportation 
Ready to install 
First chance to see the base inscription with the sculpture installed 
Close up image of the sculpture Design and Rendered visualisation (side) by Sue Aperghis 
In situ #1 
In situ #2 
In situ #3 
In situ #4 
In situ after installation 
Letter forms by Charlotte Howarth 
Abraxas Academy
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