The Tower of London moat has been transformed into a field of red ceramic poppies, as part of a massive art installation commemorating 100 years since the start of the First World War.
The breathtaking installation by artist Paul Cummins is drawing massive crowds from across the U.K., as the nation prepares to mark Armistice Day on Tuesday.
Here's a breakdown of the installation titled "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" by the numbers:
- The installation contains 888,246 red ceramic poppies. Each poppy represents a British or Commonwealth soldier who was killed during the First World War.
(Photo from Tower of London)
- Every poppy was handmade by a team of 12 different artists participating in the project.
- It takes about three days for each poppy to be completed, including drying time.
(Historic Royal Palaces / YouTube)
- More than 8,000 volunteers have helped to progressively plant the poppies in the moat. The first poppies were planted in August and the final poppy will be planted on Nov. 11, which is Armistice Day in the U.K.
- By Nov. 12, it is estimated that close to four million people will have visited the Tower of London to see the flowers.
(Photo from Tower of London)
- The poppies are being sold, with part of the proceeds going to six different charities which provide services and support to veterans.
- A team of 11,000 volunteers will help remove the poppies after the exhibition closes.
'No two are the same'
Harry Foster, a specialist product manager at Johnson Tiles, said the ceramics company was approached by Cummins to help complete the ambitious project.
He told CTV's Canada AM that the task of completing each poppy by hand was labour-intensive, requiring artists to use the traditional techniques used at the time of the First World War.
(Historic Royal Palaces / YouTube)
"So, although there are 888,246 poppies in the moat, there are no two that are the same," he said. "Those represent the fatalities from the U.K. and the Commonwealth -- every one representing a person."
Foster said the enormous project was highly emotional for everyone involved.
"Over the last four months, it has been a non-stop exercise, the sheer volume that needed to be produced," he said. "Along the way, there have been some very emotional days."
(Photo from Tower of London)
He said one day in particular was especially touching, when a group of Normandy veterans came to visit the artists, with each veteran helping to make a ceramic poppy.
Foster later accompanied the veterans on a tour of the moat.
"That was extremely poignant, to actually see the expressions of these veterans who served during the Second World War," he said. "The sheer emotion… it's indescribable, really."
