Poppies Wave
Wave is a sweeping arch of bright red poppy heads suspended on towering stalks, by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper.
This breath-taking sculpture - along with Weeping Window, a cascade comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies seen pouring from a high widow to the ground below - was initially conceived as one of the key dramatic sculptural elements in the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London in the autumn of 2014. Over the course of thier time at the Tower, the two sculptures were gradually surrounded by a vast field of ceramic poppies, each one planted by a volunteer in memory of a British or Colonial life lost during the First World War. In their original setting they captured the public imagination and were visited by over five million people.
The two sculptures, created to mark the centenary of the outbreak of war, have been brought to audiences at venues across the United Kingdom as part of the 14-18 NOW programme. As with all of 14-18 NOW's projects, the presentation of these sculptures to new audiences aims to prompt a new nationwaide dialogue around the legacy of the First World War.
Fort Nelson offers a unique setting for Wave extending the iconic artwork's life and impact and making it accessible to even more people.
The Fort is one of five built on Portsdown Hill in the 1860s as part of a large ring of defences to protect the naval base of Portsmouth. In 1914 Fort Nelson was a training base, where Royal Garrison Artillery troops were trained to use 60-pounder breech-loading guns. When the First World War broke out these troops were sent to France. Artillery would become a key weapon in the conflict. The Fort itself became a transit base for soldiers including Kitchener's Volenteers on thier way to the Western Front. Fort Nelson now displays large artillery pieces from Royal Armouries' national collection of arms and armour, including the British Army's largest surviving gun, the 18-inch, 180-tonne Railway Howitzer.
Poppies Wave
Wave is a sweeping arch of bright red poppy heads suspended on towering stalks, by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper.
This breath-taking sculpture - along with Weeping Window, a cascade comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies seen pouring from a high widow to the ground below - was initially conceived as one of the key dramatic sculptural elements in the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London in the autumn of 2014. Over the course of thier time at the Tower, the two sculptures were gradually surrounded by a vast field of ceramic poppies, each one planted by a volunteer in memory of a British or Colonial life lost during the First World War. In their original setting they captured the public imagination and were visited by over five million people.
The two sculptures, created to mark the centenary of the outbreak of war, have been brought to audiences at venues across the United Kingdom as part of the 14-18 NOW programme. As with all of 14-18 NOW's projects, the presentation of these sculptures to new audiences aims to prompt a new nationwaide dialogue around the legacy of the First World War.
Fort Nelson offers a unique setting for Wave extending the iconic artwork's life and impact and making it accessible to even more people.
The Fort is one of five built on Portsdown Hill in the 1860s as part of a large ring of defences to protect the naval base of Portsmouth. In 1914 Fort Nelson was a training base, where Royal Garrison Artillery troops were trained to use 60-pounder breech-loading guns. When the First World War broke out these troops were sent to France. Artillery would become a key weapon in the conflict. The Fort itself became a transit base for soldiers including Kitchener's Volenteers on thier way to the Western Front. Fort Nelson now displays large artillery pieces from Royal Armouries' national collection of arms and armour, including the British Army's largest surviving gun, the 18-inch, 180-tonne Railway Howitzer.