In Whitehall The Red Poppies Blow
By: Emma Hanzlíková
Photo: Lukáš Pelech
Colour palette
It would be hard to think of London with¬out one of its essential characteristics: the residential streets of white facades of the Edwardian houses. The city is equally famous for the red of double-decker buses, distinctive telephone boxes, post boxes, King’s Guard uniforms and the facings of classic pubs. A frequently seen red object is also the poppy worn by Britons on Remembrance Day to celebrate the end of the First World War. Laying the wreaths of poppies on Remembrance Sunday is one of the most important ceremonies commemorating the victims of war. The annual national ceremony is held at the London Cenotaph, a minimalist war memorial near the Old War Office designed for Whitehall in 1920.
White palace in red flames
The name ‘Whitehall’ was first recorded in 1532, and its origin is connected with the white stone used for the building of the palace of Cardinal Wolsey. In 1530, Henry VIII removed the Cardinal from power, acquiring the palace for himself. In his history play Richard II, Shakespeare makes a reference to this event: “For since the Cardinal fell, that title’s lost; ‘Tis now the King’s and called Whitehall’”. For a while rivaling the splendor of the Château de Versailles, this largest palace in Europe covered an area from St James’s Park to the Thames. Neither the reigning Tudors nor the succeeding Stuarts, however, had the chance to enjoy it for too long. The complex was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1698.
OWO after its 21st century facelift
Whitehall, however, remained synonymous with power, whether in the hands of the monarch or the state. The Old War Office (OWO) was built on the foundations of the former palace in 1906. The office of Sir Winston Churchill was situated there and the premises of the OWO also served as an inspiration for Ian Fleming’s Bond series during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division. Ingenuously hidden in the OWO, the Spy Bar also holds connotations of the secret service agent. The present-day Whitehall offers a hideaway for the wealthiest and is completely out of reach for ordinary mortals. The Grade II listed building offers 120 hotel rooms and 85 private residences. The interior of the Raffles hotel was designed by French architect and designer Thierry Despont.
Designer behind the poppy
The original front of the OWO is now decorated with everlasting poppies made of glass. In the organic forms of the sculpture entitled Poppies, the Lasvit artist and designer Petra Sošťáková has succeeded in capturing the essence of half-life, the illusion of the fluttering movement of the poppy petals slowly descending to the ground. For Sošťáková, the choice of the subject matter, conceived as a tribute to the war heroes for the Whitehall site, was a meaningful reference to the history of the building and the 2014 monumental installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by artist Paul Cummins served as her inspiration. Transparent glass invites a different use of individual elements – for example, to produce an organic effect alluding to trembling flowers in a field.
The poppy with a fleeting life
The common poppy is a delicate flower that was a popular ornamental motif frequently used in Art-Nouveau interiors. Yet it is not a noble rare flower, but a common field species that reproduces easily. Poppies last a day before they begin to wilt, and are very delicate to the touch. The flower thus symbolizes vanitas, the transience of life, and has been a dignified representation of war heroes for over a century. Although the petals fall away, the capsule of the poppy remains, filled with thousands of tiny poppy seeds. Thus, the allusion to rebirth, hope and brighter future could not be stronger. The symbolic decorative site-specific installation Poppies embodies the necessity to keep remembering major historical events through the art of glassmaking.
So, poppy by, if you happen to be in London, and get your daily English dose of red and white!
