IN PICTURES: Stunning Shrewsbury window display in charity fundraiser
It captures the horror of war, and has been created entirely our of paper.
This stunning shop window display has been stopping people in their tracks.
It has been created in the window of Tanners Wines in Shrewsbury as part of a project that aims to raise money for a soldiers' charity.
Talented West Midlands artist Grace Westwood joined forces with the shop for the artwork in Wyle Cop.
The installation, entitled Requiem, has previously appeared in Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn and at the Flower Show, but this is the first time that the piece is being displayed on one of the town's main streets.
It depicts July 1, 1916 - the first day of the Battle of the Somme - and is made entirely from paper and cardboard with no wire framework. A wounded soldier cries out in pain as a medic attends him while an officer stands nearby. Another soldier can be seen climbing a ladder up the walls of the trench.
Hannah Schwarzer, of Tanners, said: "We are thrilled to have Grace's artwork in our shop window and delighted that so many passers-by will get to see it."
The wine merchant regularly wins plaudits for its displays, which have previously included Italian Vespas, a coracle and even a couple of live diners who had won a competition to enjoy a romantic meal in the large shop window, but this is the first time that it has presented an art installation.
Retail manager Robert Crosland said: "We were so inspired by the piece and last year's many centenary events that we invited Grace to use our window space and decided to run a charity campaign to support soldiers."
The artwork was created following a project by Theatre Performance and Event Design students at Birmingham City University to create a trench scene, titled The Battle of the Somme, which is now on display at Dudmaston Hall.
During the design process, Grace drew on inspiration from the work of Shropshire war poet Wilfred Owen and a wartime chaplain nicknamed Woodbine Willy, who both wrote about the shocking and sad horrors of life in the trenches. Everything from the weaponry and uniforms to lanterns and communications equipment was thoroughly and meticulously researched to create the figures, and it was based on photographs and images from the trenches.
Grace was commissioned to create a smaller version of the trench scene for the duration of the Shrewsbury Flower Show flower show last year, which had a First World War theme.
She said she spent almost three months creating the installation.
"I began the piece by researching trench life and warfare in 1914 to 1918," she said. "Looking at photographs, documentaries and film, I developed design concepts for the installation which were reflective of the WWI trench.
"The piece is made using brown paper, which is manipulated to create different textures and structural components for each element of the design. I truly hope that every individual who sees my installation is engaged and in some way moved by the scene that I have created."
The first day of the Battle of the Somme was the bloodiest single day of the First World War – and one of the darkest days in the history of the British Army. On the first day of the battle alone, more than 19,000 British soldiers died and at least another 38,230 were injured. Ypres was the scene of three battles, of which the third, better known as Passchendaele, has come to symbolise the suffering and waste of trench warfare.
For the duration of the installation, until March 14, Tanners is donating 50 pence from every bottle of Tanners Claret sold in its Shrewsbury shop to the veterans' mental health charity, Combat Stress.
