Iconic Poppy Sculptures Are Back in Manchester to Mark Centenary of WWI
The beautiful and moving ceramic flowers will be on permanent display in the city as part of the new artwork.
The iconic poppy sculptures which have moved and stunned audiences since they were first unveiled are going on permanent display.
The iconic poppy sculptures will return to Manchester for the first time since 2018 as part of a dramatic new artwork.
After the first exhibition, the mass of poppies was broken down into smaller installations, which toured 19 locations around the UK over several years.
Reimagined into a dramatic new sculptural form, and comprising 12,960 handcrafted ceramic flowers, Poppies will be displayed within the unique architecture of IWM North’s Air Shard from 10th November 2021.
Designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind to represent a globe shattered by conflict, the iconic building, innovative and dynamic exhibitions, and public events explore how war shapes life and inspire and encourages debate.
Tens of thousands of ceramic poppies were first displayed at the Tower of London.
The installation was originally at HM Tower of London from August to November 2014 where 888,246 poppies were displayed, one for every British or Colonial life lost at the Front during the First World War.
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Poppies were a familiar sight on the Western Front, where they flourished in the battle-scarred landscape.
They became a symbol of remembrance after 1915, when Canadian soldier and surgeon John McCrae wrote the poem In Flanders Fields, ending with the lines “we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields”.
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The sculptures now form part of IWM’s collection and will be on permanent display at the museum.
Daniel Libeskind is a Polish-American architect, artist, professor, and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design and completion of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany, which opened in 2001.
