The Guardian is a 20 m (66 ft) tall statue overlooking Parc Arael Griffin, the landscaped former Six Bells Colliery site, in the South Wales mining town of Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent.

Costing in excess of £200,000, Guardian is made from over 20,000 horizontal strips of a special 10 mm (0.4 in) thick COR-TEN weathering steel, which allows a protective rust patina to form on its surface.

Close up and from the appropriate angle, the gaps between the strips disappear to give the appearance of a solid sculpture with full definition of all of its features.

[2] This style of construction creates a moiré effect where the steel sections appear to move or shimmer in the light.

[4] Exactly fifty years after the explosion, 28 June 2010, the statue was unveiled at a commemorative service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.