The Feathered Aviator by Celia Smith
Each year on Armistice Day, the 11th November at 11am, we remember and honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom by holding a two minute silence.
In 2014 a piece called The Feathered Aviator, by acclaimed wire sculptor Celia Smith, was erected at New Brewery Arts to mark 100 years since the start of the First World War. The Feathered Aviator was a uniquely creative response to the concept of communicating the heritage of 1914 to visitors one hundred years on, using the homing pigeon, telecommunications and barbed wire as motifs.
During the First World War, man-made communications systems were crude and unreliable – it was the pigeon on which they depended. Celia Smith’s deceptively delicate wire sculpture perfectly encapsulates the bird’s dual qualities of fragility and strength, from proud individuals, perfectly balanced and assured, to flocks of birds in joyous flight.
Schools in Cirencester and families from the Duke of Gloucester Army Barracks embraced the craft of wire sculpture, working with Celia Smith to make their own wire birds, each with its own special message from its creator.
They learned about the heritage of the war with the New Brewery Arts and Corinium Museum outreach education teams; some of these birds are displayed at New Brewery Arts.
Wire birds made by Cirencester families
The ‘Feathered Aviator’ installation was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the wider ‘Cirencester Commemorates’ project which organised a series of events to help the local community to understand and actively engage with the heritage of the First World War.
New Brewery Arts will observe a two minute silence on 11th November at 11am.
Remembrance Day ceremony 2014 at New Brewery Arts
#weremember1939 #lestweforget #ww2