I guess we all make mistakes in life, some more than others, but Anna may have made her greatest mistake yet to believe friendship is a good reason to allow somebody the opportunity to guest post on her blog. Ah well, she has and here I sit late on this day of remembrance, cup of tea to my right awaiting my attentions, as I cast my verbal net over the sea of this poignant day.
Tower Poppies, a few minutes before 11am on 11th November 2014. Photograph: Anna Wilkins
The poppy red waters which fills the moat down at the Tower of London has had the final touches done and I as a visiting artist and photographer leading a 3 week project in 3 London schools placed the final touches to a mid-way mini installation.
Andy with the installation at Newport Primary School, Leyton.
How easy is it for these younger generations to bridge the lives they live amongst the digital screens, brand encrusted double decker buses and the usage of double negative speech ("that's sick!!" = that's great) to a conflict a 100 years before is for them to answer. But the opportunity to place them directly in the same space, if only in image seemed a interesting starting point to a project which will start with WW1 and progress into the modern lives of 10 year olds. Portraits drawn in the first session were mounted on boxes containing portraits from a 100 years before, in the flick of an eye generations are jumped and perhaps in a quiet moment bridged. Installed on chairs and arranged in a grid formation the young participants found themselves and their work in what for most will be their first installation.
Anyway, pictures above may bring sense to these words but hopefully the participants, if not now, then at some time in the future may see time is relative and what was true and important for the lost generations of 1914 - 1918 is perhaps true to us now. So my final words are of thanks to Anna for her energy, hard working hands and a good sense of what is straight, helping me get everything finished on time.
www.andyrumball.de