Remembrance Day Tribute: Jamelie Hassan's Poppy Cover for Holy Roller Tank, 2010

"Poppy Cover for Holy Roller Tank", 2010, temporary installation, Victoria Park, London Ontario Live Arts (LOLA), camouflage netting and 4000 silk poppies.

"Poppy Cover for Holy Roller", 2010, detail

"Poppy Cover for Holy Roller Tank", 2014, installation, Manif d'art, Musée de la civilisation, Quebec

In her installation entitled Poppy Cover for Holy Roller Tank, Jamelie Hassan asks us to reflect on the role of the poppy in our military history. This installation work from 2010 was originally created to cover the tank, an artifact from World War II installed in the city's central park. Camouflage netting has 4000 red silk poppies threaded through the netting. The  installation pays respect to the symbol of the poppies we wear on Remembrance Day in memory of those who died in war. The poppy also has particular significancee for those Canadian soldiers who served in Afghanistan where fields of poppies are cultivated - some for medicinally purposes but also, the majority of the poppy crops are for the international opium trade controlled by criminal elements.

This work was commissioned by London Ontario Live Arts (LOLA) curated by Paul Walde and was installed on the Holy Roller tank at the time of the exhibition for three days. The artwork is in the collection of the artist and has been presented in many different galleries across Canada but the only time it was exhibited on a tank was on the Holy Roller tank monument in Victoria Park, London, Ontario.

This artwork is presently stored in the artist's studio awaiting the next opportunity to be presented to the public. Any reasonable proposal for future presentations of this significant artwork will be considered by the artist.