IWN North will stage a season of innovative exhibitions, installations and events in 2018 exploring themes of remembrance and how the First World War has shaped the society we live in today.
From 27 July 2018 – March 2019, the major exhibition Lest We Forget? will explore how symbols of commemoration – from the poppy to the two minute silence – have endured for a century, but also sparked controversy. Focusing on the many ways through which the First World War has been remembered, highlights of the exhibition include works of art which were intended for a ‘Hall of Remembrance’ that was never realised.
Laura Clouting, Senior Curator at IWM and curator of Lest We Forget? said:
“This exhibition will explore the diverse and compelling ways in which people have, from 1918 right up to the present day, tried to make meaning out of the Great War’s human cost. Through intensely personal private grief, the fractures inflicted upon communities and enduring national rituals of remembrance, the memory of the war dead has been kept alive for over a century. The exhibition will explore how these accepted forms of remembrance have been challenged and how they have evolved.”
From 8 September to 25 November 2018, IWM North will present Wave, by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper as part of the final year of 14-18 NOW’s UK-wide tour of the iconic poppies. Weeping Window will also appear at IWM London from 6 October to 18 November 2018.
The sculptures were originally at the HM Tower of London from August to November 2014, where 888,246 poppies were displayed, one for every British or Colonial life lost at the Front during the First World War.
These two poppy sculptures have been gifted to 14-18 NOW and IWM, and will become part of IWM’s permanent collection at the end of the UK tour.
The exhibition and poppy installation form an integral part of the Making a New World season at IWM North and IWM London, where visitors will also be able to experience a rich programme of live performance and events.
