Following a national tour in 2018, the famous cascading poppy display, designed to commemorate the end of the First World War centenary, has found a new home in Salford, at the Imperial War Museum North.
After being toured around Imperial War Museum London and Imperial War Museum North, Poppies: Wave and Weeping Window will be on permanent display at IWM North at Salford Quays.
Credit: Paul Duckworth
The structures were originally two separate installations. One was named Wave and the other Weeping Window. They will be combined after touring to mark the end of the First World War centenary. They will be displayed within the architecture of IWM North’s Air Shard from tomorrow, 10th November 2021.
Credit: Paul Duckworth
The poppies were created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper. They were part of a national cultural programme to mark the First World War centenary.
Each poppy is handcrafted from clay by a team of over 300 people. Over the course of four months, 888,246 poppies were installed at the Tower of London. Each poppy represents a life lost from Britain and its Empire in the First World War.
The poppy has become a symbol of remembrance since Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae wrote the famous poem, ‘In Flanders Fields’. Poppies were seen on battlefields on the Western Front as they thrived in the devastated landscape.
Poppies: Wave and Weeping Windows travelled to 19 locations around the UK between 2014 and 2018, with Wave concluding at IWM North and Weeping Window concluding at IWM London.
The sculptures will now form part of IWM’s collection and will have a permanent home at IWM North.
Visitors to Manchester are invited to reconnect with the poppies as both a contemporary artwork and as a means to reflect on the way that war has shaped our lives.
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