(Click here for a larger version.)
Volunteers at the Tower of London “planting” red ceramic poppies for the installation “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” by artist Paul Cummins.
Today is the 100th anniversary of Britain’s declaration of war on Germany, and tomorrow is the installation’s official opening day, marking the first full day of the nation’s involvement in World War I. Volunteers will continue adding poppies over upcoming weeks, and eventually there will be
888,246 ceramic poppies, each poppy representing a British or Colonial military fatality during the war.
The installation runs through November 11th. More info at the Tower of London’s website, including how to buy a poppy.
I’ve volunteered to help plant some poppies, so perhaps I’ll be able to get up close soon!
(Click here for a larger version.)
Interesting thing to do. But why ceramic? What will happen to them later?
They’re for sale.
https://poppies.hrp.org.uk/buy-a-poppy/
They’ll be taken down and cleaned after the end of the installation, and shipped in January.
And ceramic so they’ll last out in the open till November? (Also, ceramic flowers is what the artist does.)
Huh. Nice, I guess. But really expensive.