Poppies: Wave

– Outdoors

About Poppies: Wave

Wave is a sweeping arch of bright red poppy heads suspended on towering stalks designed by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper, created to mark the centenary of the outbreak of war.

Wave alongside Weeping Window came to audiences at venues across the country as part of the 14-18 NOW programme. As with all of 14-18 NOW's projects, the presentation of the sculptures to new audiences across the United Kingdom aimed to prompt a new, nationwide dialogue around the legacy of the First World War.

The breath taking sculptures were initially conceived as the key dramatic sculptural elements in the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London in the autumn of 2014. Over the course of their time at the Tower, the two sculptures were gradually surrounded by a vast field of ceramic poppies, each one planted by a volunteer in memory of the life of a British and Colonial soldier lost during the First World War. In their original setting they captured the public imagination and were visited by over five million people.

  • A cascade of red poppies flowing over a bridge into a lake.
  • A cascade of red poppies flowing over a bridge into a lake.
  • A cascade of red poppies flowing over a bridge into a lake.

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