In a scrubby copse of alder trees near one of north-east England’s busiest roads and in the shadow of one its most famous landmarks, the Angel of the North, is a spontaneous, secret garden of memories. An academic is on a mission to find out why.
“I’m interested in how objects and places help people, in terms of grief,” says Prof Anne Whitehead. “What significance do the objects here have? What is it about this site that has drawn them to leave things here? Did they come here with the person they are remembering? Is it because of the Angel? Is it because they feel the Angel represents the region?”
