Brighton memorial to covid-19 victims will feature more than 1,000 paper cranes

The memorial, which will be named Souls to Paradise, will take the form of a giant flock of individually folded, paper cranes.

Anyone who has lost a family member, friend or colleague, or who wishes to mark the effect the pandemic has had on us all, is invited to take part.

Every crane received by the organisers will be included in the memorial and each bird will represent a single life.

People can also add the name of a loved one they have lost during the pandemic or a personal message if they wish.

The project was the brainchild of Dr Christa Beesley, a GP at Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC in Whitehawk.

She said: “I started to fold origami cranes for health and care colleagues who lost their lives looking after others.

“I made them all in bright primary colours so that when they fly together they look bit like an NHS rainbow.

“Now, we are inviting families, schools and the whole community to get involved by folding their own crane, for a friend or family member they have lost, or to mark the suffering we have all witnessed.”

Souls to Paradise will be open to the public for a week from Tuesday, July 27, at The Spire, a creative space located in the Grade II listed former St Mark’s Chapel in East Brighton, which has given its space free of charge.

Ian Leaver-Blaxstone, a local artist who has appeared on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2019 and is a Featured Artist in this year’s Brighton Artists’ Open Houses, is designing and installing the memorial display.  

Since March 2020, 460 people have died in Brighton and Hove due to Covid-19.