BSU graduate Jaida Salmon reflects on her experience running a poppy-making workshop as part of the University’s observance of Remembrance Day, and on making her own black poppies.
Remembrance Day, observed on 11 November, holds a significant place within the hearts of the nation, as we come together as a collective to have a minute of silence at exactly 11:00am. This minute of silence allows for reflection and remembrance to honour the members of the armed forces who were a part of World War One.
As a recent BSU graduate, I had spent some time reflecting on what this time of year meant not only for myself but for other students and their involvement with Remembrance Day, and if there was an activity or workshop for students to get involved so that they could have their own reflections.
With that being said, I had been given the details to get in contact with BSU’s Chaplain, Katy Garner, and how she wanted to involve the student community in Remembrance Day. This sounded like an amazing idea and I was willing to help in any way that was possible. After conversing with Katy about the University’s involvement, the final idea that she had was to use the wall in The Street at Locksbrook and create a Remembrance wall that looked to include student and staff artwork and how they chose to depict a poppy.
Those who came to the workshop session really did show in the most beautiful ways how a poppy can be created. Whether they stayed for thirty minutes or two minutes they were able to grab a piece of material and make their own poppy how they wanted to, without any limits or restrictions.
As Locksbrook Campus is the home of our Art and Design courses, this was a great idea to have as it allowed students to take part with different mediums that were available for the workshop and create their version of a poppy. Those who came to the workshop session really did show in the most beautiful ways how a poppy can be created. Some students looked at manipulating tissue paper to create a 3D casing, another used yarn to create a silhouette placed on top of another material and some students drew and added detail to a template to give it their own artistic flair. Whether they stayed for thirty minutes or two minutes they were able to grab a piece of material and make their own poppy how they wanted to, without any limits or restrictions.
This was and is a great starting point for the University to engage staff and students with a monumental moment in the year and it would be great to see it become something that happens yearly, getting everyone involved and making it a great art piece that is created by many and loved by everyone. A way for students to express themselves through the ways that they know best: art.
The poppy that is seen throughout the United Kingdom is the traditional Red Poppy which symbolises those who sacrificed their lives in World War One and the conflicts that followed after.
The BlackPoppyRose has been recognised as the poppy which commentates the Black, African and Caribbean community contributions to the war effort as service men/women and civilians.
The purple poppy looks at commemorating animals that have been victims of war, such as horses, dogs and pigeons; and the white poppy promotes peace, commemorating those who died in conflict and focuses on challenging the way we look at war and what it results as.
I am not entirely sure where the journey will take me, I just know that I am enjoying learning about my ancestors’ history and how they contributed and risked their lives during the war.
Since I made my version of a Black Poppy, I had a great time sharing with others what I had created and posting them out to different cities all around the United Kingdom. I also learned about BlackPoppyRose who created their ‘symbol that signifies pride, honour and glory, with the hope that future generations will be unsorted by these largely until now historical stories’ and in doing so they have been inspiring. With their information about the global wars that African, Black Peoples, West Indian, Caribbean, Pacific Islands and Indigenous communities have contributed in, it goes to show that there is much more to these stories and the history that is untold within our own education system and that this information is there ready to be learned and shared with others.
With my own interpretation of a Black Poppy that was created I am not entirely sure where the journey will take me, I just know that I am enjoying learning about my ancestors’ history and how they contributed and risked their lives during the war. There are stories that are being forgotten and it is our mission as a community, and as individuals to question, learn and share these stories and information so that they are not forgotten about. It is never too late to learn.