This sign for Paul is made in ash wood with his handwriting.
The sign for Tim has kept the bark of the tree in the detail of the T. An Italic Helvetica font was chosen.
This sign for Christopher is crafted with a celtic font, reflecting Christopher’s cultural heritage. The letters balance carefully on the P and the enlarged C. For this reason, and all the undercuts it was a challenge to make.
This sign for Christopher is crafted with a celtic font, reflecting Christopher’s cultural heritage. The letters balance carefully on the P and the enlarged C. For this reason, and all the undercuts it was a challenge to make.
These photos show detail of finished signs. Each sign is made with the individual specifications chosen by each participant.
Survivor Signs is a community arts project about suicide bereavement. Working with just under 30 participants who have been bereaved by suicide, the project aims to reclaim the identity of those who have died, for their families, friends and communities, and help raise awareness of this difficult issue.
When a person dies by suicide often their identity is distorted by the tragic circumstances of their death. These signs are a means of bringing back the memory of the person in their fullness. The stigma and trauma associated with suicide can make it difficult to talk about both for the person bereaved and the people around them, it can be a very isolating experience. If we are more aware of suicide bereavement, we are more aware of suicide. We will be better equipped to address this problem.
The names of the deceased have been hand-crafted from sustainable Welsh wood and given to each participant. If requested they have been transcribed from original handwriting. The project was publicly launched at Goldfinger Factory in February 2015, with a presentation of these signs and a Memorial Walk for participants.
The project is supported by Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS), The Alliance of Suicide Prevention Charities (TASC), and Goldfinger Factory. With special thanks to Claire Blundell Jones, Alkesh Palmar, Alice Evans and Adam Knight.