This week my thoughts have been pre-occupied with the moving stories of the First World War in the media, of memorials up and down the country such as that produced by Rob Heard to commemorate the British and Commonwealth soldiers who fell at the Battle of the Somme, more than 72,000 were never recovered. Their bodies still lie beneath the battlefields in France.
This artwork by Rob Heard is a graphic representation of loss, giving those men a name and a place in our memories forever. Rob has spent four years creating a hand-stitched calico body bag to shroud a figure to represent each one of these men. Shrouds of the Somme is a unique depiction of the losses of the First World War which brings home the true scale of sacrifice.
“The most remarkable First World War commemoration you will ever see.” – Dan Snow (BBC)
All 72,396 Shrouds have been laid out shoulder to shoulder at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and open to the public from the 8th to the 18th of November. Entry is free.
Blog post by Polly Leonard