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Shortlist announced for Docklands slavery memorial

A giant cowrie shell and an 11ft (3.4m) African queen are among six artworks shortlisted to become a memorial to the victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

The piece will be located in West India Quay in London Docklands, an area linked with the trade.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who has earmarked £500,000 for the artwork, said it was important public spaces reflected the heritage of the capital.

The memorial would help Londoners "better remember the victims of slavery in the slave trade."

There are already monuments commemorating abolition, and many that reflect the wealth and power of the traders - but little to honour the millions of African people who were enslaved.

The plan has been developed by the mayor's commission for diversity in the public realm, which is working with communities to decide how the memorial will look.

Members of the public can vote for their favourite to become the final piece.

Memorial for the victims of the transatlantic slave trade

Hew Locke

"It’s been estimated that up to a quarter of all enslaved people transported across the Atlantic were children."

"Children born into slavery could be traded away from their own parents and, as they grew, their own children would then be enslaved and traded away in turn."

“As well as the past, this memorial also needs to be about the present and the future – and children signify the future."

"I want to engender a sense of pride in our survival."

"I want the work to be delicate but hard hitting.”

The work consists of bronze sculptures of boys and girls carrying buildings that were built in London from money earned by the trade in enslaved people.