To commemorate the centennial of Britain’s involvement in the First World War, ceramic artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper conceived of a staggering installation of ceramic poppies planted in the famous dry moat around the Tower of London. Titled “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red,” the final work will consist of 888,246 red ceramic flowers—each representing a British or Colonial military fatality—that flow through grounds around the tower.

Elephants are paraded in front of the Grand Palace to pay respects to the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok on October 8, 2016. Thailand' s King Bhumibol Adulyadej died at the age of 88 on October 13 after years of ill health, ending a seven- decade reign and leaving the politically divided nation without its key pillar of unity. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

A woman dressed as “The Milkmaid” (Het Melkmeisje), after a painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, picks up tulips at the National Tulip Day on the Dam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 16 January 2016. The event is the official start of the international tulip season which runs until the end of April. (Photo by Evert Elzinga/EPA)

Entomologist Anna Platoni wears a hat made of tropical flowers made by florist Emma Reynolds with a Blue Morpho butterfly on her cheek to mark the opening of Butterflies in the Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley, south of London, on Janurary 15, 2016. (Photo by Luke MacGregor/PA Wire/RHS)

An exile Tibetan monk gestures as he makes a point in a dialectics debate with another monk, sitting right, at the Kirti monastery in Dharmsala, India, Monday, January 18, 2016. The debate is an essential part of their training as Buddhist monks. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

The stunning coastline of South Wales in UK on July 12, 2025 was once again turned into a wild and wonderful natural playground as Love Trails Festival powered by Garmin welcomed around 5,000 people to the Gower Peninsula for a long weekend of music, trail running, adventure, movement and community. (Photo by Giulia Spadafora)

Indonesian army soldier Partika Subagyo, wearing a costume of the puppet character Bima, dances to raise money for landslide victims, in Solo, December 17, 2014, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. The landslide in Banjarnegara destroyed a village and killed at least 32 people, according to officials. (Photo by Andika Betha/Reuters/Antara Foto)

An Afghan journalist takes a “selfie” as U.S. President Barack Obama (R) holds a joint news conference with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani (C) at the White House in Washington March 24, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)