Tower of London poppies: designer 'humbled' by public's phenomenal response to display

 
Popular installation: a Yeoman Warder walks past the ceramic poppies by artist Paul Cummins and theatre stage designer Tom Piper (Picture: AFP/Getty)
Anna Dubuis12 November 2014

The designer behind the Tower of London poppy memorial spoke today of his delight at the public’s phenomenal response as two dramatic pieces of the display were granted an extension to stay for another two weeks.

Tom Piper was among the crowds visiting the tribute yesterday having spent the last three weeks in New York where he watched the public’s reaction to the artwork from afar.

He said: “It was a wonderful thing to see it finished. I found it very moving. To think one poppy is one life and to see the sheer numbers that are there is still emotionally draining.

“It’s rather amazing and humbling that it has been taken to heart by the public. It’s allowed people to personally connect with Remembrance Day and the scale of the losses has been brought to people’s attention.”

From today, Armistice Day, thousands of volunteers will remove the 888,246 poppies, created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins and arranged by set designer Piper in the Tower of London’s moat during the summer.

The Tower of London poppy display - in pictures

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But two features of the memorial – the “Weeping Window” cascade of poppies from a window and the “Wave”, a surge of poppies near the entrance – will remain until the end of the month.

The government decision to keep the two elements in place follows huge public demand for more time to visit it, led by the Evening Standard’s Save Our Poppies campaign.

The two vast poppy structures will then tour the UK for four years before being installed permanently at the Imperial War Museums in London and Manchester.

Piper, who is associate designer at the Royal Shakespeare Company, said: “I am very pleased more people will have a chance to visit the exhibition. We have been working behind the scenes to secure a legacy for the two pieces which we have been able to do. Eventually after the tour they will be at the Imperial War Museums for the public to see for many years to come.”

He added: “The removal of the poppies was for me always part of the theatre. The tide has reached full flow today and now it is ebbing again. For the next two weeks the public will be able to watch them taken away.”

Piper initially studied to be a biologist but got involved in theatre design at Cambridge University when his old school friend, Oscar-winning film director Sam Mendes, asked him to build the set for a student production of The Tempest.

Piper said Mendes had joined the crowds at the Tower of London, saying: “He sent me a nice message saying how much he was moved by it. It has been the universal reaction by everyone from all walks of life.”

He said he had bought five of the poppies, which have been sold for £25 each raising an estimated £10 million for six service charities, for his mother and his four daughters.

He said: “On a spiritual level, the poppies represent the spirit of that one person’s life. We have to preserve it and cherish it.

“It has been a wonderful thing that a collaboration between a ceramic artist and a theatre designer has caused so much debate and passion and moved so many people. There were hundreds of people involved in creating this piece of work. This is art that has grown with people’s involvement in it.”

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