Poppies: Weeping Window in Orkney

4th June 2016

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Poppies: Weeping Window in Orkney
BY PAUL CUMMINS ARTIST AND TOM PIPER DESIGNER

St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney is the first venue in Scotland to host Poppies: Weeping Window, installed on the Cathedral's west end.

Many people from Caithness and further afield have taken the ferry over the sea to see the display. About 4500 poppies are taken from the huge display at the Tower of London.

A cascade comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies, Poppies: Weeping Window was originally seen pouring from a high window to the ground below at the Tower of London as part of the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.

Orkney was the home of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, and on 31 May 2016 Orkney will host the official commemoration for the Battle of Jutland, the largest and most decisive naval battle of the First World War which was fought at the cost of over 8,000 lives.

On the 5 June 2016 events will take place to commemorate the loss of HMS Hampshire which was sunk by a mine West of Orkney. 737 men lost their lives including the Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener whose image appeared on the now famous ‘Your Country Needs You' recruitment poster. Events will include a re-dedication of the Kitchener Memorial and the unveiling of a commemorative wall with the names of all those lost on the Hampshire.

Following the installation in Orkney, the sculpture will go on show at the Black Watch Museum in Perth from 29 June to 25 September 2016.

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Noel Donaldson