Strange to think that a year ago today I was standing in the moat of the Tower of London watching as the final Poppy was planted in ‘Blood Swept Lands and seas of Red’. At that point we still didn’t know if we would be able to save the two sculptural pieces for the Nation, conversations were ongoing with the Backstage Trust and the Clore Duffield Foundation, and later with the Government. So it is wonderful to reflect on how well the three installations have gone this Autumn. I was honoured to lay a wreath with Lady Susie Sainsbury ,the Patron of the Backstage Trust, at the Memorial in Liverpool on Sunday as part of the annual service and also to mark the opening of the Weeping Window at St George’s Hall.
The response to the installations has been phenomenal so far; visitor numbers were up by 1300% at Woodhorn Mining Museum for the first Weeping installation cascading from the wheel of the pit head, and we expect over half a million to see Wave at YSP. I am delighted that the work still speaks to people and feel vindicated that taking the sculptures around the country was the right thing to do, so that those who couldn’t get to the Tower have a chance to see and reflect and commemorate.
inside weeping window, Liverpool 2015
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