Wave of remembrance at war museum
THOUSANDS of ceramic poppies that formed part of Tower of London exhibition Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red have been installed at the Imperial War Museum North.
Poppies: Wave opened to the public yesterday, and the contrast of bright red flowers against the dark grey museum walls is quite a spectacle – one the museum hopes will attract thousands of new visitors.
The sculpture was part of the huge art installation at the Tower of London in 2014, where each of the 888,246 poppies represented one life lost in World War One. Along with another section called Weeping Window, it has been touring the UK for the past few years as part of the arts programme 14-18 NOW.
The Imperial War Museum North will be the final resting place for Wave, with Weeping Window housed at London’s Imperial War Museum.
The poppies will be on display outside the museum until November 25, when they will become part of the permanent collection.
Paul Cummins is the artist who came up with the idea of the poppies, and it’s an idea he stumbled upon completely by chance.
“Back in 2012 I found a will from a lady who had died in the First World War,” he told the M.E.N.
“Within the will were the words ‘blood swept lands and seas of red,’ then from that point I went on to find out how many people had died on the front, men and women and children.
“I crazily thought of the idea of making all these poppies.
“It’s basically one flower for one life – it’s easier to show people than to tell them.
“I didn’t know if the sculptures would adapt to every building and every place they’ve been. This is quite a modern building to put them on, but they’ve become more than the sum of themselves with the stories that are attached to them. That’s made the difference.”
Once Paul had the idea for the poppies, designer Tom Piper was taken on board to handle the sculptural design against the Tower of London, and against every building the exhibition has visited since then.
Although the general shape and idea of Wave has stayed the same, the arrangement of the poppies has been adapted to every location across the UK, from Orkney to Plymouth and now to Manchester.
“It’s always responded to the building it’s attached to,” Tom said.
“For me here in Manchester, this is such an iconic building. Daniel Libeskind designed it to look like it had been torn apart through war, so for me I’ve tried to kind of echo the shapes of the building, so the curves of the sculpture match with the curves of the metalwork.
Poppies: Wave will be on display outside IWM North, on Trafford Wharf Road in Stretford, from September 8 until November 25. It is free to visit.