Trench of Somme shrouds installation at Aerospace Bristol

Shrouds of the Somme at Aerospace Bristol.

An evocative part of the Shrouds of the Somme art exhibition is on show at the Aerospace Bristol museum on the former Filton Airfield until Sunday 14th October.

‘The Trench’ is part of the Shrouds of the Somme artwork exhibition commemorating 100 years since the end of World War 1. The exhibition has been touring the UK and has been brought to Aerospace Bristol by South Gloucestershire Council for two weeks before the Shrouds of the Somme travel to London to be laid out at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in November for the Armistice Centenary.

Shrouds artist Rob Heard has built a 2m high free-standing wooden trench in which the tens of thousands of Shrouds are stacked. Visitors walking through, experience the immersive nature of this installation; it generates incredibly powerful emotions, giving a graphic sense of both being in a trench and what the large numbers of those killed really mean. Names and details of all 72,396 Commonwealth servicemen killed at the Somme who have no known grave are displayed on the outer walls of The Trench in alphabetical order, sourced from Commonwealth War Graves records.

Cllr Rachael Hunt, chair of South Gloucestershire Council said:

“We are proud to welcome this exhibition to South Gloucestershire which gives local people a most moving and powerful experience and a chance to remember all those who have given their lives in the name of their country.”

“Many local people will have seen the Shrouds laid out on College Green in Bristol but seeing them like this, thousands upon thousands stacked on top of each other in The Trench, really brings home the scale of the devastation experienced during the Battle of the Somme.”

Entry to view The Trench exhibition is free, however should you wish to also visit Aerospace Bristol, standard ticket prices will apply. For more information, visit www.aerospacebristol.org

More information about the Shrouds of the Somme art exhibition can be found at shroudsofthesomme.com

This article originally appeared in the October 2018 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 21). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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