Humber poppy trail launches at Beverley Art Gallery

The first of a series of art installations that will spread across the Humber region has been revealed at Beverley Art Gallery.  The installations, made up of 100,000 poppies, by Hull-based artist Martin Waters, will incorporate nearly 10,000 poppies handmade by children and museum visitors, to commemorate the First World War.

In total, Martin will create five different installations across the East Riding, Hull and North Lincolnshire as part of the Joining Up The Humber Museums initiative.  The poppies have been made by children in schools across the region, visitors to museums across the Humber region and visitors to the special mobile unit which has been touring around county shows over the summer.  Every poppy has a tag on which is written the name of a soldier from the region who died during the conflict.

“Each of the installations follows a common theme of remembrance, but is created specifically for its location and the space available,” comments Martin.  “Some feature characters entirely covered with poppies, whilst others use poppies to recreate explosions or pathways through the venue – the design for Holy Trinity Parish Church in Hull is around 40 metres long.”

Inspiration for the designs comes from Martin’s own thoughts on war, visits to the battlefields and cemeteries of Ypres in Belgium, and from talking to veterans and their families about their experiences.  Martin designs and creates each of the works off-site, so that it can be reassembled in its final destination – a process that takes only around an hour. 

The first of the five artworks is now in place at Beverly Art Gallery, with others to follow at Beverley Minster (29 October to 18 November), Ferens Art Gallery in Hull (27 October until 23 November), St Lawrence Church in Scunthorpe (7 – 20 November) and Holy Trinity Parish Church in Hull (1 – 28 November).  Martin is further inviting visitors to the installations to add their own contributions, with poppy-making kits available at the venues. 

“The Centenary has given me an opportunity to explore my own family relationships, not only the first World War but also the other conflicts that members of my family have been involved with,” adds Martin.  “These exhibitions and displays are helping people understand the horror of war; we need to remember and learn from what has gone before.”

The poppy installations form part of the work of the Joining Up The Humber Museums initiative, funded by Arts Council England, which has funded major World War I-themed exhibitions at local authority museums and attractions throughout the Humber region, as well as school workshops and smaller projects at other museums, including mannequins and costumes for the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre, display cabinets and exhibition materials at the Withernsea Lighthouse Museum, and publishing a booklet about the links between the owner of Burnby Hall and the Romanovs in 1917.

For more information on the art installations and World War I themed exhibitions across the Humber region, please visit www.joiningupthehumber.co.uk

ENDS

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