The award-winning, internationally acclaimed glass artist Alison Kinnaird's installation War Memorial has gone on display in the public area of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
Inspired by hearing the names of battles being fought in Ukraine, and thinking of all the names of wars and conflicts throughout the world and throughout history, Alison has created a poignant reminded of the human cost of war.
“No area seems untouched, and no lessons seem to be learned,” says Alison, whose glass works have been exhibited around the world. “Glass seemed the perfect medium in which to represent the fragility of life in time of war.”
All viewers of the piece are likely to find names relevant to their own country.
“The child in the centre is symbolic of the fact that war does not just affect the military,” says Alison, who is also a master of the Scottish small harp and led the revival in interest in the clarsach with her album The Harp Key in 1978. “But there’s also the fact that there is a child within each individual soldier.”
War Memorial will be on display in the Scottish Parliament for the next six months. Meanwhile, Alison's open studio Edinburgh Festival Fringe solo exhibition, Art in Glass, will be available for public viewing in Shillinghilli, Temple, EH23 4SH from August 1 – 31, 10am to 5pm. Look for the signs to Fringe Venue 244.