WAR Flowers – A Touring Art Exhibition explores human nature in wartime through floriography, sculpture and scent
Opening in France at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial on May 2
Download Photos and Press Kit Materials: http://bit.ly/2DMvfs4 What People are Saying About WAR Flowers: http://bit.ly/2DM43t7 Visit: warflowers.ca Visit: veterans.gc.ca
During the First World War, Canadian soldier George Stephen Cantlie picked flowers from the fields and gardens of war-torn Europe and sent them home to his baby daughter Celia in Montreal so she would remember him in the event he did not make it home from that terrible conflict. One hundred years later, his touching ritual has provided the inspiration for WAR Flowers – A Touring Art Exhibition, opening Wednesday, May 2 at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. WAR Flowers is an innovative multi-sensorial experience that examines human nature in the landscape of war through artistic representations, combining Cantlie’s actual letters and pressed flowers with original scents and crystal sculptures specifically created for this exhibition, along with portraits of ten Canadians involved in the First World War. The exhibition — developed by filmmaker and curator Viveka Melki and presented by Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens (Alexander Reford, director) in Grand-Métis, Quebec — is built around Cantlie’s century-old preserved blooms. Melki has reinterpreted these through floriography, a Victorian method of communicating meaning and emotion through flowers. WAR Flowers consists of ten stations, each showcasing a variety of flower picked by Cantlie. The stations represent individual attributes associated with the exhibition’s ten themes, and reflect Melki’s beliefs about war and human nature. Each station also highlights a Canadian (including John McCrae, Georges Vanier, Elsie Reford and A.Y. Jackson) who embodies these attributes, and features his or her personal experiences of the First World War. Ten specially commissioned optical crystal sculptures by Toronto artist Mark Raynes Roberts and ten original scents developed by Magog, Quebec perfumer Alexandra Bachand complete the exhibition. VIDEO - The Exhibition’s Inspiration VIDEO - The Exhibition’s Creative Team
The exhibition is presented at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial’s visitor education centre in France (May 2 to September 2) and will move to the Château Ramezay: Historic Site and Museum in Montreal (October 2018 to March 2019). WAR Flowers: A Touring Art Exhibition is produced by Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens and made possible with a grant from the Museums Assistance Program – Access to Heritage of Canadian Heritage, and private support from foundations and individual donors. Veterans Affairs Canada, La Mission du Centenaire, Air Canada and TD Bank are sponsors of the exhibition. About the Canadian National Vimy Memorial The majestic and inspiring Canadian National Vimy Memorial is Canada’s largest First World War Memorial in Europe. Built at the highest point of Vimy Ridge, the memorial marks the site of the significant and historic Battle of Vimy Ridge and also stands as a tribute to all Canadians who served during the Great War. Each year, almost a million people from around the world visit the Canadian National Vimy Memorial to learn about and honour Canadian sacrifices and contributions.