Thousands of poppies remember war’s fallen
IT’S been admired by millions of people across the UK – now the sea of poppies from the Tower of London will go on show in Cardiff this week.
After visiting Caernarfon Castle last year, this is the second time the breathtaking sculpture Weeping Window has come to Wales.
Thousands of handmade ceramic poppies will cascade out of the window of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, to commemorate those who lost their lives during the First World War.
Weeping Window will be unveiled at the Senedd tomorrow and will stay until September 24.
By then, the display will have taken a five full days to install, with each handmade poppy put in place by a special art handling team under the instruction of designer Tom Piper and artist Paul Cummins.
Weeping Window, together with a second sculpture Wave, were created to mark the centenary of the outbreak of war. The sculptures have a total of 11,300 ceramic flowers and are being brought to audiences at venues across the country by 14-18 NOW as part of the Poppies tour.
After starting the UK-wide tour in 2014, each location has been picked based on both its appearance and connections to local history.
While previous locations include historic sites such as St George’s Hall in Liverpool and Lincoln Castle, the Senedd was specifically chosen for its modern feel.
Jenny Waldman, director of 14-18 NOW, said: “When the poppies were at the Tower of London it was telling the story of the huge amount of men that lost their lives.
“Now we’re looking at the regional stories of how the First World War impacted the area.”
Opening only a week after the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele, where 3,000 Welsh soldiers lost their lives, the display comes at an important point in Welsh history.
Ms Waldman said: “We’re thrilled to be at the Senedd and Cardiff. It falls into the Passchendaele centenary which had a huge impact on the Welsh regiments. It felt fitting at a very important moment to bring the poppies to Cardiff.”
The tour director said: “We have an artist handling team who put the poppies in the installation and the designer goes to each venue to do a detailed plan so the Weeping Window is slightly altered to match the building.
“The art handling team put every poppy in individually, it’s not a big team. There is a centre spine to it which comes apart and fits together in each place and then the poppies fit into it.”
Last year vandals struck at a digital ‘sea of poppies’ less than 24 hours after it was unveiled outside the Wales Millennium Centre to commemorate the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. To prevent any similar problems, security will be in place at the Senedd. Since the exhibition was first unveiled in London in 2014, 2.7m people have seen the poppy sculptures on their tour of the UK.
During its original time at the Tower of London, five million people visited the 888,246 ceramic poppies, each one planted by a volunteer in memory of the life of a British and Colonial soldier lost during the First World War.
The installation is one of a series of events at the Senedd commemorating the First World War.
Renowned photojournalist Lee Karen Stow’s world famous exhibition will also come to the Senedd, which features commissioned portraits telling the story of Welsh women affected by war.