Sunday the 17th of January saw the last time that 'Weeping Window', an art installation of 6,000 ceramic poppies, was displayed at St.George's Hall in Liverpool. The tribute to those that lost their lives during the First World War was unveiled on the 7th of November and was visited by an estimated 360,000 people.
The installation was created by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper to mark the centenary of the First World War. 'Weeping Window' and 'Wave' combined together formed the installation 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' at the HM Tower of London in 2014 - this display of 'Weeping Window' in Liverpool is part of a UK-wide tour organised by 14-18 NOW (national organisers of the First World War Centenary Cultural Programme). Other confirmed venues for 2016 are Lincoln Castle (28th May - 4th September), The Black Watch Museum in Perth (29th June - 25th September) and Caernarfon Castle (12th October - 20th November).
I saw 'Weeping Window' in daylight and (more frequently) in the dark hours of winter, both in dry and wet weather. From these observations I decided to take photos of it in the evening as I felt the spotlights gave it a theatrical and dramatic presence in the surrounding darkness. Additionally a spell of rain produced a pleasing reflective surface that mirrored the colour of the poppies.
I thought 'Weeping Window' was a poignant and impressive (visually and technically) piece of work. A painstaking effort and number of hours must have gone into making all the poppies, followed by working out the arrangement around this building. The flow and mass of this bold red colour appealed to me on a personal level (I've always been drawn to red), and had a fluid quality to it that I liked to follow from top-to-bottom and back again.
John Taylor performed the 'Last Post'.
As impressive as this installation is visually, the core purpose of it was important to remember. On the final evening 'Last Post' was performed by John Taylor, followed by a minutes silence; a fitting way to think about those that lost their lives in the war.
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Thanks for reading this blog. Please take a look through the rest of my photos in the gallery below and if you have any thoughts or comments then leave them further below. Also, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter if you would like to be updated when I post new blogs. For more information about this installation click here to visit the 14-18 NOW website.
