Beyond the Deepening Shadow, installation artwork
Beyond the Deepening Shadow is an art installation at the Tower of London featuring thousands of small flames arranged in the moat. The lights flicker each evening for several hours and are accompanied by a sound composition created from a nurse's poem about the war.
The installation was created in 2018 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the First World War's end. It was inspired by an earlier art display of nearly a million ceramic poppies that had filled the moat, pioneering a new form of contemporary war remembrance.
The name draws from a poem by Mary Borden, a nurse and former suffragette who worked at a field hospital during the First World War. The installation honors not only soldiers but also people like her whose contributions in less visible roles shaped the war's history.
The installation is visible in the evenings between 5 and 9 p.m. and can be viewed from the walls surrounding the moat. Special tours and accessible guides are available for visitors with disabilities, including resources designed for autistic visitors to prepare for the experience.
Hundreds of volunteers and soldiers light the flames one by one each night, wearing special flame-proof suits that match the stone color of the Tower. This careful daily ritual demonstrates that even small acts of remembrance require constant attention and care to maintain their meaning.
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